Primetime Performances

(note: these entries include honorees for every week of the 2006-07 academic year, starting in late August; as of May 13, a total of 130 different student-athletes from all 26 Notre Dame teams have been honored on the Primetime Performer lists)

NOTRE DAME PRIMETIME PERFORMANCES 2006-07 HONOREES (scroll down to see details on each weekly PTP group, included below this list)

Week of May 7-13 – Noriko Nakazaki (golf), Barry King and Andrew Roth (tennis); honorable mention: women’s rowing varsity-8 boat, Adam Currie (track), Brittney Bargar (softball), Michael Podgajny (lacrosse), Colleen Rielley (tennis), Molly Huddle (track) and Christine Lux (softball).
Week of April 30-May 6 – Maryann Erigha (track), Balasz Molnar (track) and Molly Huddle (track); honorable mention: David Phelps (baseball), Anna Weber (track and field), Ryan Hoff (lacrosse), Brittney Bargar (softball), Jake Watson (track), Lindsey Ferguson (track), Will Yeatman (lacrosse), Okechi Ogbuokiri (track), Todd Ptacek (track), Stephanie Brown (softball), Thomas Chamney (track) and Jaclyn Espinoza (track and field).
Week of April 23-29 – Women’s rowing varsity-8 boat and men’s track 4×1,600 relay team; honorable mention: Adam Gifford (golf), Jaclyn Espinoza (track and field), Brett Lilley (baseball), Annie Brophy (golf), Lucius Polk (lacrosse), women’s rowing varsity-4 boat, men’s track 4×800 relay, Noriko Nakazaki (golf), Joey Kemp (lacrosse) and Cole Isban (golf).
Week of April 16-22 – Stephen Bass (tennis) and Sam Elam (baseball); honorable mention: Britney Bargar (softball), Ross Zimmerman (lacrosse), Catrina Thompson (tennis) and A.J. Pollock (baseball).
Week of April 9-15 – Molly Huddle (track) and the women’s rowing varsity-8 boat; honorable mention: Sean Dougherty (lacrosse), Maryann Erigha (track), Noriko Nakazaki (golf), Balasz Molnar (track), Jillian Byers (lacrosse) and Lucius Polk (lacrosse).
Week of April 2-8 – Kelcy Tefft (tennis) and Ryan Hoff (lacrosse); honorable mention: Jane Stoeckert (lacrosse) and Michael Podgajny (lacrosse).
Week of March 26-April 1 – Stephen Bass (tennis) and Stephanie Brown (softball); honorable mention: Molly Huddle (track), Adam Gifford (golf), Alicia Billings (lacrosse), Joey Kemp (lacrosse), Lindsey Ferguson (track), Patrick Smyth (track), Brittney Bargar (softball) and Jillian Byers (lacrosse).
Week of March 19-25 – Patrick Ghattas (fencing) and Kelley Hurley (fencing); honorable mention: David Phelps (baseball), Maryann Erigha (track), Ryan Thang (hockey), Brittney Barger (softball), Valerie Providenza (fencing), Brett Lilley (baseball), Heather Johnson (softball), Adi Nott (fencing), the men’s track 4X400 relay and the women’s rowing varsity-4 bout.
Week of March 12-18 – David Brown (hockey) and Cole Isban (golf); honorable mention: Ryan Hoff (lacrosse), Cosmina Ciobanu (tennis), Sheeva Parbhu (tennis), Eric Condra (hockey), Noriko Nakazaki (golf) and Wes O’Neill (hockey).
Week of March 5-11 – Katie Carroll (swimming) and Adi Nott (fencing); honorable mention: Thomas Chamney (track), Wes O’Neill (hockey), Christa Riggins (swimming), Tory Jackson (basketball), Jake Watson (track), Kelley Hurley (fencing) and Garrett Regan (hockey)
Week of Feb. 26-March 4 – Kelley Hurley (fencing) and Brett Lilley (baseball); honorable mention: Jillian Byers (lacrosse), Jakub Jedrkowiak (fencing), Linda Kohan (softball), Christian Thompson (tennis) and Adi Nott (fencing)
Week of Feb. 19-25 – Tory Jackson (basketball) and Caitlin McKinney (lacrosse); honorable mention: David Phelps (baseball), Stephanie Brown (softball), Brett Hegelson (tennis), Michael Podgajny (lacrosse) and Luke Harangody (basketball)
Week of Feb. 12-18 – Katie Carroll (swimming) and Thomas Chamney (track); honorable mention: Joey Kemp (lacrosse), Jillian Byers (lacrosse), Noah Babin (hockey), Catrina Thompson (tennis), John Lytle (swimming), Heather Johnson (softball), Garret Koxlein (track and field), Julia Quinn (swimming), Ted Brown (swimming) and Anna Weber (track and field)
Week of Feb. 5-11 – Kevin Deeth (hockey) and Valerie Providenza (fencng); honorable mention: Charel Allen (basketball), Cosmina Ciobanu (tennis) and Noah Babin (hockey)
Week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4 – Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft (tennis) and Jake Watson (track); honorable mention: Tory Jackson (basketball), Balasz Molnar (track), Amy Kohlmeier (track), Stephen Bass (tennis), Patrick Smyth (track) and Thomas Chamney (track)
Week of Jan. 22-28 – Katie Carroll (swimming) and Michael Bulfin (diving); honorable mention: Kelley Hurley (fencing), Thomas Chamney (track), Okechi Ogbuokiri (track), Colin Falls (basketball), Julia Quinn (swimming), David Brown (hockey) and Patrick Ghattas (fencing)
Week of Jan. 15-21 – Bill Thanhouser (fencing) and Charel Allen (basketball); honorable mention: Ryan Postel (track) and Adi Nott (fencing)
Week of Jan. 8-14 – Cassie Gullickson (track and field) and Luke Harangody (basketball); honorable mention: Patrick Ghattas (fencing), Valerie Providenza (fencing), Ryan Thang (hockey), Tulyah Gaines (basketball), Anna Weber (track and field), Katie Carroll (swimming)
Week of Jan. 1-7 – Charel Allen (basketball) and Kevin Deeth (hockey); honorable mention: Russell Carter (basketball) and Erik Condra (hockey)
Week of Dec. 25-31 – Mark Van Guilder (hockey) and Rob Kurz (basketball); honorable mention: Russell Carter (basketball), Ashley Barlow (basketball) andLuke Harangody (basketball)
Weeks of Dec. 11-24 – Melissa D’Amico (basketball) and Russell Carter (basketball); honorable mention: Luke Harangody (basketball), Ashley Barlow (basketball) and Rob Kurz (basketball)
Week of Dec. 4-10 – Russell Carter (basketball) and Breona Gray (basketball); honorable mention: Erik Condra (hockey), Kelley Hurley (fencing), Kyle McAlarney (basketball) and Garrett Regan (hockey)
Week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3 – Katie Carroll (swimming) and Rob Kurz (basketball); honorable mention: Mark Van Guilder (hockey), Charel Allen (basketball) and MacKenzie LeBlanc (swimming); Lapira and Hanks combine for unprecedented sweep of soccer’s Hermann trophies
Week of Nov. 20-26 – Jason Paige (hockey) and Michele Weissenhofer (soccer); honorable mention: Josh Sandman (golf), Katie Carroll (swimming), Patrick Smyth (cross country) and Kerri Hanks (soccer)
Week of Nov. 13-19 – Mallorie Croal (volleyball) and Luke Harongody (basketball); honorable mention: Joe Lapira (soccer), Brittany Bock (soccer), Darius Walker (football) and Jill Krivacek (soccer)
Week of Nov. 6-12 – Erik Condra (hockey) and Sunni Olding (cross country); honorable mention: Kerri Hanks (soccer), Patrick Smyth (cross country) and Ryan Thang (hockey)
Week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5 – Stephen Bass (tennis) and Kerri Hanks (soccer); honorable mention: Valerie Providenza (fencing), David Brown (hockey), Mallorie Croal (volleyball) and Noriko Nakazaki (golf)
Week of Oct. 23-29 – Brittany Bock (soccer) and Kurt Benninger (cross country); honorable mention: Christian Hanson (hockey), Sunni Olding (cross country), Jen Buczkowski (soccer) and Patrick Smyth (cross country)
Week of Oct. 16-22 – David Brown (hockey) and Jeff Samardzija (football); honorable mention: Noriko Nakazaki (golf), Kerri Hanks (soccer), Josh Sandman (golf), Brady Quinn (football) and Wes O’Neill (hockey)
Week of Oct. 9-15 – Kurt Benninger (cross country) and Cole Isban (golf); honorable mention: Carrie Dew (soccer), David Brown (hockey), Sunni Olding (cross country), Michael Thomas (soccer); unique feat: Carl Santos-Ocampo (men’s golf)
Week of Oct. 2-8 – Mariel Zagunis (fencing) and Kerri Hanks (soccer); honorable mention: Joe Lapira (soccer), Darius Walker (football), and Catrina and Christian Thompson (tennis)
Week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1 – Michele Weissenhofer (soccer) and Joe Lapira (soccer); honorable mention: Rhema McKnight (football), Patrick Smythe (cross country), Kim Lorenzen (soccer) and Darius Walker (football)
Week of Sept. 18-24 – Adrianna Stasiuk (volleyball) and Terrail Lambert (football); honorable mention: Brady Quinn (football), Carrie Dew (soccer) and Joe Lapira (soccer)
Week of Sept. 11-17 – Sunni Olding (cross country); honorable mention: Adrianna Stasiuk (volleyball), Jake Watson (cross country) and Michele Weissenhofer (soccer)
Week of Sept. 4-10 – Brady Quinn (football); honorable mention: Christie Shaner (soccer), Maurice Crum (football) and John Carlson (football)
Week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3 – Amanda Cinalli (soccer) and Joe Lapita (soccer); honorable mention: Christina Kaelin (volleyball) and Jill Krivacek (soccer)
Week of Aug. 21-27 – Kerri Hanks (soccer); honorable mention: Justin McGeeney (soccer), Christina Kaelin (volleyball) and Michele Weissenhofer (soccer)

May 15, 2007

Golf Career Stroke Average Leader Noriko Nakazaki, Tennis Doubles Partners Barry King And Andrew Roth Named Primetime Performers Of The Week
Second week of May includes honorable mention for: the women’s rowing varsity-8 boat, Adam Currie, Brittney Bargar, Michael Porgajny, Colleen Rielley, Molly Huddle and Christine Lux.

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Noriko Nakazaki placed 18th at the NCAA Central Regional (224) while finishing as the Notre Dame recorholder for career (75.80) and single-season (74.71) stroke average.

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The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-38 honorees (May 7-13) including the women’s golf career stroke-average recordholder Noriko Nakazaki, plus the tennis doubles tandem of Barry King and Andrew Roth:

NORIKO NAKAZAKI
Women’s Golf
Senior
Hanover Park, Illinois

Nakazaki wrapped up the season with the top career stroke average in Notre Dame women’s golf history (75.80) while her 74.71 season stroke avg. in 2006-07 broke an ND record she had set in ’05-’06 (75.41); she closed her career by competing at the NCAA Central Regional and was in contention to advance to the NCAA finals until a final-round 79 left her six shots shy of the cut; Nakazaki – the first ND women’s golfer ever to compete in the NCAAs as an individual entrant – was making her third overall appearance in the NCAAs, tying recent ND men’s competitors Cole Isban (’07), Mark Baldwin (’06) and Scott Gustafson (’06) as possibly the only Notre Dame golfers ever to compete in three different NCAA events (others may have done so in the pre-1970s era, pending further research); Nakazaki opened the NCAAs with a 1-over 72 at the 6,116-yard University of Michigan Golf Course, putting her five shots off the lead and in 13th place; she started the first round on the back nine and posted birdies on holes 12 (par-3) and 13 (par-4) to make the turn with an even 35 (she then birdies holes 3, 7 and 8 on the front); the 72 is her best career round in NCAA tournament play; Nakazaki followed with a 73 in the second round, moving up to 10th (145; 10 shots off the lead) thanks to a birdie on the #3 hole (par-5; made turn at 39/+3) and back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12); her final round of 79 included making the turn at 40 (+5, on the back nine) before carding a birdie on the #3 hole (par-3); her three-round total of 224 is the best score ever by an ND women’s golfer in NCAA play, besting Nakazaki’s 230 shot at the 2005 Central Regional.

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Barry King opened the 2007 NCAAs with his 91st career singles victory while teaming with Andrew Roth for a pair of doubles wins.

BARRY KING and ANDREW ROTH
Men’s Tennis
Senior and Junior
Dublin, Ireland, and Houston, Texas

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Andrew Roth

King and Roth continued their strong play, in singles and as a doubles team, while helping the 5th-seeded Irish open NCAA play with 4-0 wins over Butler and 38th-ranked Wisconsin; the duo clinched the doubles point vs. Butler, getting the win at #3 over Scott Newmark and Evan West (8-4); they then registered a key win vs. Wisconsin, holding off Michael Muskievicz and Jeremy Sonkin (8-4) after the Badgers had won at #1 doubles; in singles action, King posted a dominant win over Butler’s Ben Raynauld (6-2, 6-1; at #4) before splitting the first two sets with Wisconsin’s Luchezar Kasarov (6-7, 6-2, 1-2 when match abandoned); Roth clinched the win over Butler with his #6 singles match vs. Newmark (6-1, 6-1) and followed with a hard-fought win over Wisconsin’s Michael Dierberger (7-6, 6-4); King and Roth remained unbeaten (9-0) since their recent doubles pairing, with King improving to 33-7 in his 2006-07 singles matches (his career mark of 91-36 is tied for 11th on the ND wins list); Roth (26-11) was set to enter the next round riding a career-best eight-match winning streak (plus wins in 12 of his past 13 matches); the Irish advanced (26-3) to the NCAA round-of-16 for the seventh time in the program’s history, needing just one win to tie the team record for victories in a season (27-9, in 1980-81).

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Amanda Polk

HONORABLE MENTION

Women’s Rowing Varsity Eight Boat – The Notre Dame rowing team finished 5th overall and 3rd in the Central Region at the 2007 Central/South Region Sprints, held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. (site of the 2007 NCAA Championships); the Irish were bolstered by their varsity eight boat earning a 3rd-place finish in the Grand Finals and two 6th-place finishes (by the varsity four and novice eight crews); Notre Dame’s 341 points trailed only 5th-ranked Virginia (440), #12 Ohio State (366), #16 Tennessee (352) and #5 Wisconsin (346) in the 23-team field (OSU and Wisconsin were the only Central Region teams that finished ahead of ND); the varsity-8 crew again consisted of senior coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, IL), sophomore Lauren Buck (Flint, MI), senior Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh), sophomore Christine Trezza (Staten Island, NY) and the junior grouping of Allison Marsh (Mashpee, MA), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, MN), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, PA), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, NJ); Notre Dame was the runner-up in its varsity-8 preliminary heat (6:42.51), behind Tennessee (6:36.60) and ahead of #19 Louisville (6:47.09), Kansas and Indiana; that marked the first time in seven races that ND did not cross the finish line first; the Irish then advanced to the Grand Final, thanks to a 3rd-place showing in the semifinals (6:54.68) behind Virginia (6:47.50) and Ohio State (6:52.22) but ahead of Wisconsin (7:01.81), Duke and Clemson; Notre Dame closed the competition by finishing just four seconds off the pace in the Grand Final (6:34.68), with Virginia winning in a time of 6:30.40, followed by OSU (6:33.92) – with the Irish posting wins over Tennessee (6:37.10), #7 Minnesota and #11 Central Florida.

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Adam Currie

Adam Currie (Men’s Track; Jr.; Verdun, QUE) – Currie qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional, by virtue of his season-best time of 1:50.39 in the 800-meter race at the Georgia Tech Invitational; Currie’s qualification gives Notre Dame three regional entrants in that event and 31 overall (19 men, 12 women), with 28 individual entrants plus three relay teams (the Mideast Regional will be held May 25-26, in Columbia, Mo.).

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Brittney Bargar

Brittney Bargar (Softball; So., RHP; Corona, CA) – Bargar concluded her stellar 2007 season with yet another spot on the weekly Primetime Performers list, after three strong pitching performances in the BIG EAST softball championship; she went 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA during the pressure-packed week, racking up 19 strikeouts and just a pair of walks while allowing 12 hits in 20 innings of work; she opened the tournament with a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Connecticut (7 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 Ks; retired final 12 batters), after holding back the BIG EAST player of the year Mich Truax; the win over UConn gave ND 30-plus wins (30-21) for the 19th time in the program’s history; Bargar then led the way in the 8-2 semifinal upset of 12th-ranked DePaul, flirting with perfection for 5.2 innings before settling for the 3-hitter that included only two balls going to the outfielder (7 IP, 2 R, BB, 6 Ks; retired first 17); she nearly pitched the Irish to a win over Louisville in the title game (6 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 6 Ks), but the Cardinals claimed the hard-fought 3-2 win; the loss ended ND’s seven-game win streak while leaving Bargar’s season record at 22-3 (her 26 complete games are 4th-most ever by an ND pitcher in one season).

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Michael Podgajny

Michael Podgajny (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., M; Ridley Park, PA) -Podgajny led the Notre Dame offense with four goals (matching his career high), as the 9th-ranked Irish dropped a hard-fought NCAA tournament game at 5th-ranked Johns Hopkins, 11-10 in overtime; he opened the scoring with an unassisted goal just one minute into the game, extending his team-best goalscoring streak to 15 games; following the first of two 40-minute weather delays, Podgajny scored again (assisted by Brian Hubschmann) with just :08 left in the first quarter (3-1); his third goal (again unassisted) came after the second delay, cutting JHU’s lead to 7-6 late in the third quarter; Podgajny added another score with 10 minutes left in regulation, converting on a feed from Davey Leach for his 26th goal of the season and a 9-8 deficit; the Irish finished the season with an 11-4 record, after playing their first overtime game in more than two seasons (it also was ND’s first OT game in NCAA tournament play).

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Colleen Rielley

Colleen Rielley (Women’s Tennis; Fr.; Overland Park, KS) – Rielley delivered the clinching singles wins (at #3) that completed Notre Dame’s 4-0 wins over Illinois-Chicago and 23rd-ranked Michigan, as the 6th-seeded Irish advanced to the NCAA round-of-16 for the seventh time in the program’s history; she opened the postseason with a 6-1, 6-0 win over UIC’s Grace Gill-Morlis before winning a three-set battle with Michigan’s Kara Delicata (6-3, 4-6, 6-1); Rielley’s impressive debut season now includes a 29-10 overall singles record, including 9-6 in three-set matches (the most three-set wins on the team); Notre Dame (27-3) matched the highest victory total in the program’s history, with a chance to best that mark in the round-of-16 vs. North Carolina.

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Molly Huddle

Molly Huddle (Women’s Track; Sr.; Elmira, NY) – Huddle met the NCAA regional standard in the 1,500 meters, winning the Georgia Tech Invitational in a career-best time of 4:17.84 that ranks 8th-fastest time in Notre Dame women’s track history; Huddle earlier had qualified for the regional 5,000-meter race and also has posted the minimum time for the NCAA 10,000-meter race (an event that is not contested on the regional level).

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Christine Lux

Christine Lux (Softball; Fr., 1B; Glendale Heights, IL) – Lux delivered the three-run home run that pushed Notre Dame’s lead to 6-0, in the 8-2 upset of 11th-ranked DePaul during the semifinal round of the BIG EAST softball tournament; she earlier had executed a sacrifice bunt in the quarterfinal win over Connecticut (6-0) and added a double in the championship game battle with Louisville (a 3-2 loss).

May 8, 2007

Track Standouts Maryann Erigha, Balasz Molnar And Molly Huddle Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Action-packed first week of May includes impressive group on honorable-mention list: David Phelps, Anna Weber, Ryan Hoff, Brittney Bargar, Jake Watson, Lindsey Ferguson, Will Yeatman, OkechiOgbuokiri, Todd Ptacek, Stephenie Brown, Thomas Chamney and Jaclyn Espinoza.

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Maryan Erigha ran on the victories 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams at the BIG EAST outdoor meet while finishing second in the 100 meters, giving her the most career all-BIG EAST honors (15) in the 17-year history of the Notre Dame women’s track-and-field program.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-37 honorees (April 30-May 6) including track standouts Maryann Erigha, Balasz Molnar and Molly Huddle:

MARYANN ERIGHA
Women’s Track
Senior
Sprints
Stone Mountain, Georgia

Erigha played a lead role in Notre Dame winning the program’s first BIG EAST women’s outdoor track and field title, with a final margin of 120.5-106.5 over runner-up Louisville (at UConn’s Sherman Sports Complex) … Erigha’s impressive weekend included a runner-up finish in the 100 meters (season-best 11.56) to go along with running on two victorious relay teams … she finished with 15 career all-BIG EAST honors and eight in outdoor BIG EAST events, with both totals representing the highest in the history of Notre Dame women’s track and field … Erigha teamed with senior Okechi Ogbuokiri, freshman Joanna Schultz (Holmen, WI) and junior Brienne Davis (Grand Prairie, TX) on the 4×100 relay team that won in a season-best time of 45.31, bumping the Irish up on the Midwest Region qualification list … she also joined Ogbuokiri, Schultz and junior Crysta Swayzer (Houston) to form the 4×400 unit that also improved its regional standing with a season-best time of 3:39.87.

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Kurt Benninger anchored Notre Dame’s 4×1,600-meter relay team that won the prestigious Drake Relays in a school-record time of 16:21.27.

BALASZ MOLNAR
Men’s Track
Freshman
Hurdles and 4×400 Relay
Dunaujvaros, Hungary

Molnar became the first Notre Dame sprinter – male or female – ever to win the BIG EAST 400-meter hurdles (51.62) while also running the third leg of ND’s 4×400-meter relay team that posted a runner-up finish at the BIG EAST outdoor meet (3:10.83) … he helped the Irish men place third at the BIG EAST championship (behind Louisville and UConn), marking the 11th time in 12 years of conference membership that ND has placed in the top three … Molnar earlier had turned in two all-league finishes at the BIG EAST indoor meet … the other runners on the 4×400 relay included seniors Ryan Postel (Lexington, KY)) and Jordan Powell (Springfield, IL) and junior Austin Wechter (Shelby, OH) … Postel ended his BIG EAST career with 11 all-conference finishes, including seven outdoors (tied for 2nd-mos tin ND history) … Powell now is a six-time all-BIG EAST performer (two outdoors) while Wechter has collected three all-BIG EAST honors.

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Molly Huddle capped her stellar BIG EAST track career by winning the 10,000 meters for the second time and then becoming a rare four-time champion in the 5,000 meters, helping the Irish women win their first BIG EAST outdoor track-and-field title.

MOLLY HUDDLE
Women’s Track
Senior
Distance
Elmira, New York

Huddle was named the “most outstanding performer” at the 2007 BIG EAST women’s track and field outdoor championship, becoming only the third multiple winner of the honor since its inception in 1993 (former ND sprinter Liz Grow received the honor in 2001 and ’02) … she defended her BIG EAST title in the 10,000 meters (33:20.42) before winning yet again in the 5,000 (15:59.89) – taking her place in BIG EAST history as the conference’s first distance runner (male or female) ever to win the same event four times … Huddle also became just the fifth BIG EAST woman to win four outdoor crowns in the same event and is the first to do so since 1995 (when Miami’s Gillian Russell won her fourth straight 100-meter hurdle title) … she is the first BIG EAST runner (male or female) ever to win both the 5K and 10K titles in the same meet twice in a career … Huddle finished her BIG EAST career with seven individual titles (six outdoor) while her 11 career all-BIG EAST honors (six outdoor) rank as the 3rd-most in ND history … she won the 10,000 race with more than a minute lead on her nearest competitor (the 33:20 ranks 2nd in the ND record book) … Huddle, who already has qualified for the NCAA 10 K race (there is no regional rare in that event), became the sixth female in BIG EAST history to win multiple 10,000-meter titles.

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David Phelps

HONORABLE MENTION

David Phelps (Baseball; So., RHP; Hazelwood, MO) – Phelps was named BIG EAST baseball pitcher of the week for the second time this season, following his complete-game win in the series opener versus Seton Hall on May 4; the ace righthander totaled a career-high 11 strikeouts and walked none while allowing just five hits and facing only 31 batters (four over the minimum), in the 3-1 Friday-night win that represented his fourth complete game of the season; one has to go all the way back to April 30, 1996, to find an ND pitcher who went 9.0 innings and reached double-digit Ks without walking a batter (Dan Stavisky had 10 Ks that night in a 3-hit, 2-0 win over Pittsburgh); helps joined South Florida senior RHP Danny Otero as the only repeat selections for BIG EAST pitcher of the week in the 2007 season; Phelps picked up his first honor after outdueling Otero on the first league weekend, in addition to earlier being named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll (one of his three overall league honors this season) … only two BIG EAST players have received more than three total BIG EAST weekly honors this season (pitcher/player of the week or honor roll); Phelps – who entered the second week of May as the BIG EAST leader in ERA (1.58; 6th in the nation), strikeouts (78) and wins (8-3) – went to 3-ball counts on just five batters in the SHU game while all but four of his 27 outs came via strikeouts (11, including 4 “looking”) or groundouts (12), plus a pair of pickoff moves and two routine flyouts to center field ; he posted six 1-2-3 innings faced just the minimum eight batters through 2.2 innings; Phelps later surrendered a leadoff double in the 7th but closed with nine straight outs; the Pirates had multiple baserunners in only the 3rd and 6th innings, with Phelps limiting the visitors to 1-for-7 batting when runners were on base, 1-for-5 with men in scoring position and 2-for-11 with 2-outs (he also allowed just three leadoff baserunners to reach and held SHU’s lefthanded batters to an 0-for-11 night); Phelps became the third ND pitcher ever to post a double-digit K game twice in the same season at Eck Stadium (which opened in ’94), with 10 Ks in the earlier win over USF.

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Anna Weber

Anna Weber (Women’s Track and Field; So., Throws; Indianapolis, IN) – Weber broke through for her first career all-BIG EAST finish by taking third in the outdoor hammer throw, at 56.09 meters (184-0); she actually broke Dore DeBartolo’s school record (182-10) twice at the BIG EAST outdoor meet, earlier reaching 56.02 meters on her second throw; Weber unofficially moved into the top-15 on the Mideast Regional qualification list.

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Ryan Hoff

Ryan Hoff (Men’s Lacrosse; So., A; Baldwin, MD) – Hoff paced the Irish offense with six goals, as 8th-ranked Notre Dame (11-3) closed its regular season with a 14-9 win at Quinnipiac … the crease attackman scored the first Irish goal off an assist from Ross Zimmerman (2-1), sparking a 9-1 ND scoring run … he had his five other goals in that streak, with assists from Will Yeatman (3-1 and 9-2), Brian Hubschmann (5-1) and Ryan Cunn (10-2), plus an unassisted goal (7-2) … Hoff entered the NCAAs with a team-best 38 goals and 42 total points (2nd-most on the team).

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Brittney Bargar

Brittney Bargar (Softball; So., RHP; Corona, CA) – Bargar picked up the win in all four of her appearances during the week, highlighted by his second career solo no-hitter (vs., at Loyola); her stats for the week included a 1.39 ERA, 28 strikeouts, just 5 walks and 11 hits allowed in 26.0 innings; Bargar opened the week by nearly tossing a perfect game vs. the Ramblers (10 Ks, hit batter); she then won the 5-2 opener in a sweep of Rutgers (7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks) before winning both games vs. Villanova (5-2, 4-2); Bargar tossed the first 5.0 innings of the opener vs. VU (3 H, BB, 6 Ks) and then went the distance in the nightcap (2 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks; also hit a 2-run double) for her 20th win of the season and 23rd complete game.

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Jake Watson

Jake Watson (Men’s Track; So., Middle Distance; Stillwater, MN) – Watson finished as the runner-up in the BIG EAST 1,500-meter race (3:50.24), after an earlier 3rd-placew finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (personal-best 9:01.00); he will enter his senior year with five career all-BIG EAST finishes, including four in outdoor events.

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Lindsey Ferguson

Lindsey Ferguson (Women’s Track; Fr.; Greenfield Center, NY) – Ferguson set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:41.33) while turning in a 3rd-place finish at the BIG EAST outdoor meet; she improved on her Midwest Regional qualification standing while picking up her second overall all-BIG EAST finish of the 2007 season.

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Will Yeatman

Will Yeatman (Men’s Lacrosse; Fr., A; San Diego, CA) – Yeatman finished the regular season as Notre Dame’s leader in assists (23) and total points (23), also totaling 21 goals (4th-most on the team); his goal and pair of assists helped the 8th-ranked Irish post their eighth straight victory in the 14-9 win at Quinnipiac; Yeatman’s early assist on a Ryan Hoff goal prodced a 3-1 lead and he later had the assist on Brett Vecchio’s game-tying, man-up score (5-5); the Bobcats used a 5-0 run to close to 10-7, but the Irish closed out the win by scoring four of the game’s final six goals, including Yeatman’s goal (assisted by Brian Hubschmann) that provided the final margin.

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Okechi Ogbuokiri

Okechi Ogbuokiri (Women’s Track; Sr.; Willingboro, NJ) – Ogbuokiri led a 2-3-4 finish for Notre Dame in the BIG EAST 400-meter dash, with her runner-up time of 54.51; she also ran on two relay teams that won BIG EAST outdoor titles, teaming with senior Maryann Erigha, freshman Joanna Schultz and junior Brienne Davis on the 4×100 unit (season-best 45.31) before joining Erigha, Schultz and junior Crysta Swayzer as the 4×400 winning team (3:39.87, also a season-best); Ogbuokiri ended her career with the 12 career all-BIG EAST honors (2nd-most in ND history, behind Erigha’s 15), including six in outdoor events (tied for 2nd-most in the ND record book); Schultz now owns two indoor and three outdoor all-BIG EAST honors while David is a two-time all-BIG EAST performer and Swayzer owns six career all-BIG EAST honors (two outdoors).

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Todd Ptacek

Todd Ptacek (Men’s Track; Sr.; Benton Harbor, MI) – Ptacek waging a thrilling stretch duel with Louisville’s Cory Thorne in the BIG EAST 3,000-meter steeplechase before taking runner-up honors in 8:55.67 (to Thorne’s time of 8:55.35); he also advanced to the finals in the 1,500 meters and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional with a personal-best time of 3:44.98; Ptacek finished his BIG EAST career with five all-BIG EAST honors, including three in outdoor events.

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Stephanie Brown

Stephanie Brown (Softball; Sr., CF; Chandler, AZ) – Brown posted four multiple-hit games at the Palm Springs Tournament, as the Irish went 2-3 Brown hit 9-for-18 from her leadoff spot (3 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2B, SB) while pacing the Irish to a 5-0 week; she opened the week by batting 3-for-4 in the 5-0 win at Loyola (2 R, SB) before hitting 3-for-8 with 3 RBI and a double in the sweep of Rutgers (5-2, 5-1); Brown closed the week by going 3-for-6 with a run scored to help take two from Villanova (5-2, 4-2); her run against the Wildcats was the 164th of Brown’s career, tying Andrea Loman for the top spot in the ND record book.

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Thomas Chamney

Thomas Chamney (Men’s Track; Sr., Middle Distance; Tipperary, Ireland) – Chamney battled through illness and jetlag fatigue (after a pair of trans-Chamney finished as the BIG EAST runner-up in the 800 meters (1:51.85) before anchoring the Irish 4×800 relay team that likewise posted a 2nd-place finish (7:31.27); he finished his career with 11 overall all-BIG EAST finishes (tied for 4th-most in ND men’s track-and-field history), including six in outdoor events; the other runners on the runner-up 4×800 relay unit included juniors John Cavanaugh (Granger, IN) and Adam Currie (Verdun, QUE) and freshman Blake Choplin (Kansas City, MO); Currie now is a six-time all-BIG EAST performer (two outdoor) while Cavanaugh has been all-BIG EAST five times (twice outdoor).

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Jaclyn Espinoza

Jaclyn Espinoza (Women’s Track and Field; Fr.; Throws) – Espinoza claimed a runner-up finish in the BIG EAST outdoor discus throw, with a top mark of 47.46 meters (155-8) on her first attempt; she earlier had booked her place in the Mideast Regional, with a season-best throw of 49.76 meters (163-3) at the Hillsdale (Mich.) Relays.

May 1, 2007

Women’s Rowing Varsity Eight Boat And Men’s Track 4-by-1,600 Relay Team Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Blockbuster final week of April also includes eight with honorable-mention: Adam Gifford, Jaclyn Espinoza, Brett Lilley, Annie Brophy, Lucius Polk, women’s rowing varsity-4 boat, men’s track 4×800 relay, Noriko Nakazaki, Joey Kemp and Cole Isban.

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Notre Dame’s varsity-8 boat continued its impressive season by posting two more wins over top-10 opponents (#5 Virginia and #7 Princeton, at Princeton before winning the BIG EAST race to help deliver the women’s rowing program its unmatched four straight BIG EAST title (pictured).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-36 honorees (April 23-29) including the women’s rowing varsity-8 boat and the men’s track 4×1,600 relay team:

VARSITY-8 BOAT
Women’s Rowing

The 6th-ranked varsity-8 crew continued its streak of victories over top-10 boats, defeating 5th-ranked Virginia, Princeton (#7) and George Washington during a race at Carnegie Lake in Princeton, New Jersey … the strong race gave the Irish five straight wins over top-10 boats, producing the most top-10 wins in the program’s nine-year history … the varsity-8 crew consisted of senior coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, IL) sophomore Lauren Buck (Flint, MI), senior Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh), sophomore Christine Trezza (Staten Island, NY) and the junior grouping of Allison Marsh (Mashpee, MA), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, MN), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, PA), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, NJ) … the Irish broke away at the halfway mark and finished the 2,000-meter course with a time of 6:19.1, better than two seconds ahead of runner-up Virginia; one day later, the Notre Dame rowing program won an unprecedented fourth consecutive BIG EAST title, with the action held on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts … the varsity-8 led the way in the BIG EAST triumph, with the Irish also winning the varsity-4 and novice-4 races … ND’s 118 points easily outdistanced 18th-ranked Louisville and Syracuse (both 101) … despite expending plenty of energy while rowing a tough race the day before, the varsity-8 crew won the grand final race in a time of 6:31.85 (nearly four seconds ahead of Louisville and 14-plus seconds clear of Syracuse) … the varsity-8 earlier won its morning hear in a time of 6:41.58 (Cincinnati was next, at 6:53.89).

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Kurt Benninger anchored Notre Dame’s 4×1,600-meter relay team that won the prestigious Drake Relays in a school-record time of 16:21.27.

4×1,600 RELAY TEAM
Men’s Track

For the second consecutive season and fourth time in the past six years, Notre Dame won the men’s 4×1,600-meter relay title at the 98th running of the prestigious Drake Relays (in Des Moines, Iowa) … the Irish dominated the field to win by more than 16 seconds over Missouri, covering the 4-mile race in a school-record time of 16:21.27 … senior Todd Ptacek (Benton Harbor, MI) ran a 4:07 opening leg, followed by sophomore Patrick Smyth (Salt Lake City, UT) clocking in at 4:06, junior Jake Watson (Stillwater, MN) in the pivotal third leg (4:02) and All-American Kurt Benninger (Chepstow, ONT) at the anchor position (4:04) … Ptacek, Watson and Benninger each ran on the previous years’ 4×1,600 relay champion at the Drake Relays, with Benninger also anchoring the victorious Irish quartet in 2004 … ND’s other wins in the Drake Relays 4×1,600 have come in 1942 and 2002 (for five total ND titles in that race).

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Adam Gifford

HONORABLE MENTIONAdam Gifford (Men’s Golf; Sr.; Plymouth, IN) – The former walk-on completed his inspiring season-long story by tying for 5th at the BIG EAST Championships, helping the Irish finish as the league runner-up; Gifford posted the best 54-hole score of his career (213/-3), after carding rounds of 69-72-72 at the par-72, 7,036-yard Cardinal Glub in Simpsonville, Ky.; his opening 69 matched his career-best round and marked the third time in six weeks that Gifford shot under 70; he ended round-1 in 3rd place among the 60-player field, with the Irish (291) sitting back in 4th on the team leaderboard; Notre Dame moved up to the #2 spot on the second day (287/578), with Gifford’s even-par score moving him into a tie for 2nd place (141) as play entered the final day; Gifford joined Todd Vernon (’97) and teammate Josh Sandman (’06) in posting the best 36-hole BIG EAST Tournament score ever by an ND golfer (141); the Irish then closed the gap on defending champion and 19th-ranked Louisville, with ND posting its best round of the week (278; 3rd-best in ND history) to finish at 856 (12 shots back of the Cardinals), the 4th-best 54-hole score in the ND record book; Gifford had the team’s shot of the day in the final round, chipping in from well off the green for an eagle on the par-5 hole #9; he finished 3rd on the 2006-07 team with a 74.71 season stroke avg. (for a 75.37 career mark) and counted to the 4-man team score in 29 of his 34 rounds played (after playing just 20 rounds in the previous seasons combined); Gifford helped the Irish finish in the top three of the BIG EAST event for the 11th time in its 12-year league membership.

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Jaclyn Espinoza

Jaclyn Espinoza (Women’s Track and Field; Fr.; Throws) – Espinoza extended her NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying mark in the discus throw, with a winning distance of 163-3 (49.76 meters) at the Hillsdale Gina Relays; her throw was the 3rd-longest in ND women’s track-and-field history and best since Dore DeBartolo`s 51.56 in 2000.

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Brett Lilley

Brett Lilley (Baseball; Jr., SS; North Canton, OH) – Lilley was named to the BIG EAST baseball weekly honor roll for the second time this season, after reaching base 12 times and factoring into nine different Irish runs during a 3-1 week that included a win over Ball State and taking 2-of-3 at league leader Rutgers; Lilley hit 4-for-9 during the week with 3 walks and 5 times hit-by-pitch, for a lofty .667 on-base pct.; he also extended his impressive errorless streak to 21-plus games (spanning 98 fielding chances), with his other stats for the weekend including 4 RBI, 5 runs, a double and a sac. fly; the Irish capped their 8-2 homestand with the 7-3 win over Ball State, as Lilley hit safely in his only official at-bat (plus 3 HBPs); he then hit 3-for-8 with five other times on base (3 BB, 2 HBP) in the Rutgers series (4 RBI, 4 R, 2B, SF); Lilley reached safely 5 times (2-for-2, 3 BB) and had a hand in 7 runs (4 RBI, 3 E, 2B, SF), as the Irish opened RU series with a15-3 win; the 4 RBI marked just the third time in Lilley’s career that he has totaled more than 2 RBI in a game; he added a hit and HBP in game-2 and then scored a key run in the 6-4 finale (HBP); Lilley ranks 10th in the BIG EAST with a .375 season batting avg. while owning a .515 on-base pct. that ranks 2nd-best among BIG EAST players and 17th in the nation (also would rank 6th in the ND record book and 2nd-best since 1990); he ranks 6th among BIG EAST players in runs scored (46) and second in triples (3) while his 22 HBPs trail only Creighton’s Robbie Knight (24) among all D-I players (from nearly 300 teams).

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Annie Brophy

Annie Brophy (Women’s Golf; Fr., Spokane, WA) – Brophy closed her rookie season with an impressive 3rd-place finish at the BIG EAST Championship, after posting consistent rounds of 72-73-71 (216) at the par-72, 6,067-yard Oxmoor Country Club in Louisville; Brophy’s season-best round of 72 helped give the Irish a day-1 lead (292; six shots ahead of Louisville), with Brophy tied for 2nd-place in the earlygoing; her first day included a pair of birdies, 11 pars and an eagle on the 5th hole (par-5); Brophy again posted the team’s top score in round-2 (73/145), leaving her two shots off the lead following a round that included a team-high five birdies (four on the back-9); ND’s middle-round score of 302 (594) left the Irish with a 3-stroke cushion heading into the final 18 holes; Brophy ended just three shots back of the leader, thanks to her season-best 71 that yielded the even-par 216; Louisville forged a tie at the turn, with the Irish and Cardinals battling over the back-9 before finishing tied at 891 (ND posted a 297); play revered to the 9th hole (par-4) for a full-team playoff, with the even-par finish for Louisville giving them the narrow margin and the 1st-place trophy (ND went +1 in the playoff).

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Lucius Polk

Lucius Polk (Men’s Lacrosse; Sr., M; Washington, D.C.) – Polk was named the Great Western Lacrosse League’s player of the week, after tying his career high with four goals in the 12-6 win at #20 Ohio State that clinched the GWLL title for the 10th-ranked Irish; he scored a pair of early goals for a 3-0 lead on the Buckeyes, the first coming with the man-advantage (assisted by Will Yeatman), followed 32 seconds later with a score set up by Michael Podgajny; Polk added his third goal shortly before halftime (7-4; assisted by Duncan Swezey) and then tied his career high in the fourth quarter, scoring a man-up goal off another feed from Yeatman for a 9-6 lead (that goal sparked the clinching 4-0 run by ND); Polk’s breakout season now includes 17 goals and 9 assists, as a key part of the nation’s 5th-ranked offense (11.6 goals per game).

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Eileen Froehlke

Varsity-4 Boat (Women’s Rowing) – The crew helped Notre Dame claim its unprecedented four consecutive BIG EAST title, following racing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts; the varsity-4 boat consisted of senior coxswain Eileen Froehlke (Pittsburgh), sophomores Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh) and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.), senior Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, IA) and junior Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, MD); the Irish claimed the gold medal with a three-second victory over West Virginia in the grand final, after crossing the finish line in 7:32.43.

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John Cavanaugh

4×800 Meter Relay (Men’s Track) – The relay team turned in a runner-up finish at the prestigious Drake Relays, after posting the 2nd-fastest time in school history for the 4×800 (7:22.42); the relay group consisted of junior Adam Currie (Verdun, QUE), freshman Cameron Eckert (Markle, IN), junior John Cavanaugh (Granger, IN) and senior All-American Thomas Chamney (Tipperary, IRE); Chamney also lowered his NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying time in the 800 meters, hitting the tape in a season-best 1:48.56.

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Noriko Nakazaki

Noriko Nakazaki (Women’s Golf; Sr., Hanover Park, IL) – Nakazaki posted an all-BIG EAST finish for the fourth time in her career, placing 4th at the BIG EAST Championship with rounds of 73-74-72 (+3) at the par-72, 6,067-yard Oxmoor Country Club in Louisville; she went on to be selected as an at-large entrant for the 2007 NCAA Regionals and will shatter the ND records for single-season stroke avg. (her current 74.71 would best her own record of 75.41, set in ’05-’06) and career stroke avg. (her 75.16 is well below former teammate Katie Brophy’s standing record of 77.42); Nakazaki will become the first ND women’s golfer ever to advance to the NCAAs three times in her career, doing twice previously alongside her Irish teammates; current senior Cole Isban and a pair of 2006 graduates (Mark Baldwin and Scott Gustafson) are believed to be the only ND men’s golfers ever to compete in the NCAAs during three different years (each from 2004-06); Nakazaki’s four birdies helped her stand 5th after the opening-round 73 (as part of ND’s leading 292, six shots ahead of Louisville); she then moved up to 6th-place with her round-2 score of 73 (147), with the Irish lead shrinking to three shots after a 302 (594); Nakazaki’s closing 72 was part of the team’s 297 final-round score, forging a tie with Louisville at 891 (the Cardinals won the full-team playoff on the par-4 #9 hole, with ND going +1 and UL finishing at even par); Nakazaki has factored into the 4-player team score in all 28 of her rounds this season and in all but seven of her 128 career rounds.

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Joey Kemp

Joey Kemp (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., G; Potomac, MD) – Kemp continued to lead Notre Dame’s stingy defense, as the 10th-ranked Irish wrapped up the GWLL title with a 12-6 win at #20 Ohio State; Kemp had 13 saves as ND limited OSU to five goals under its season scoring average (11 goals/gm); Kemp and the rest of the Irish defensive unit have held the opposition to six goals or fewer throughout the current seven-game winning streak; the win over OSU pushed ND’s season record to 10-3 and produced the program’s 10th GWLL title while also sending the Irish on to the NCAAs for the 12th time in the past 18 seasons.

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Cole Isban

Cole Isban (Men’s Golf; Sr.; South Bend, IN) – Isban overcame a poor opening round to finish tied for 5th at the BIG EAST Championship (213/-3), after posting rounds of 76-68-69 at the par-72, 7,036-yard Cardinal Glub in Simpsonville, Ky.; he finished with a 72.71 season stroke avg. for 2006-07 (breaking his own ND record of 72.97, set in ’05-’06) and also departs as the Irish leader in career stroke avg. (73.76), besting a mark that had stood for nearly 50 years (Charles Thurn averaged 74.43, from ’56-’58); Isban failed to count to the team score for just the second time all season after posting a 76 in the opening round (placing him 28th in the 60-golfer field) but he came back to shoot 68, matching the best score of round-2 (and boosting him into 8th, with an even-par 144); the Irish were 4th after opening with a 291 but moved up two spots thanks to a 287 in round-2; Isban’s strong second round included four birdies on his first six holes, followed by a 69 for the 213 total and his third top-5 finish of the year (ninth of his career); ND closed the gap from 16 shots to 12, as 19th-ranked Louisville repeated as the league champion; Isban joined former teammate Mark Baldwin as the only ND golfers to total three all-BIG EAST finishes in their careers while the Irish finished among the top-3 for the 11th time in 12 years as a member of the BIG EAST.

April 24, 2007

Stephen Bass And Sam Elam Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Britney Bargar, Ross Zimmerman, Catrina Thompson and A.J. Pollock – earn honorable-mention honors for week of April 16-22.

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Stephen Bass was named the BIG EAST’s most oustanding player for 2007, after playing a lead role in Notre Dame winning yet another BIG EAST men’s tennis title.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-35 honorees (April 16-22) including tennis standout Stephen Bass and baseball pitcher Sam Elam:

STEPHEN BASS
Men’s Tennis
Senior
Bronxville, New York

Bass was named the BIG EAST’s Most Outstanding Player, in a vote by the league head coaches that came on the heels of Bass helping lead the 4th-ranked Irish to their third BIG EAST title in the past four years (held at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts) … currently listed 8th in the national singles rankings, Bass combined with Ryan Keckley to post an 8-2 win over Villanova’s Dimitri Chimerakis and Sean Daly during the #1 doubles matchup in the BIG EAST semifinals (Bass clinched the 4-0 win by topping VU’s Sean Daly at #1 singles, by scores of 6-0 and 6-4) … a 4-0 semifinal win over St. John’s then sent the Irish to the BIG EAST final for the 12th time in 12 years of league membership, with Bass and Keckley posting an 8-2 win over SJU’s Alex Svetlakov and Tom Green (Bass did not have to finish his singles match vs. SJU’s Louis Desmarteaux, who won the first set 6-4 before Bass had a 4-1 lead in set-2) … the Irish then won the title with their third straight 4-0 win (vs. Louisville), avenging a loss from the 2006 BIG EAST final … ND and UL split the first two doubles matches, with Bass and Keckley then edging the nation’s #22-ranked duo of Damar Johnson and Slavko Radman in a marathon match, 9-7 … Bass added the clinching win in singles, knocking off Radman (6-3, 6-2) to improve to 33-9 this season (including 20-3 at #1 singles), with his 106 career singles wins now ranking 6th in ND history (his 33 wins rank 9th in ND single-season history) … Bass and Keckley (6-0) now are 33rd in the national doubles rankings … previously a two-time BIG EAST all-tournament pick in singles (’04, ’05), Bass joined current ND assistant coach Ryan Sachire (’99, ’00) and Brent D’Amico (’05) as Irish players who have been named the BIG EAST Most Outstanding Player … ND improved to 24-3 (its most wins since 1989-90) while winning its sixth BIG EAST title (also ’96, ’99, ’02, ’04 and ’05).

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Sam Elam was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning versus Purdue, ultimately finishing with a 1-hitter through 9.0 innings before watching the Irish win 1-0 in 10 innings.

SAM ELAM
Baseball
Sophomore
Pitcher
Mesquite, Texas

Elam was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after playing his part in an epic pitchers duel that saw him and Purdue’s Matt Bischoff both take no-hitters into the 8th inning … Elam ended up 4-outs shy of a no-hitter while Bischoff’s perfect game ended with a leadoff single from Jeremy Barnes in the 9th (ND won 1-0, in the 10th) … after facing just 33 batters in the 9.0 innings, Elam ended the night with 6 walks and a career-high 9 strikeouts; he was close to becoming the first ND pitcher since 1938 to throw a solo 9-inning no-hitter, nonetheless becoming the first ND pitcher since Grant Johnson in 2002 (vs. South Alabama, in the NCAAs) to throw a 9-inning, solo 1-hitter … Elam allowed just three balls to reach the outfield, with his 27 outs including the 9 Ks, 12 groundouts, a couple infield popups, a pair of flyouts, another ball caught by the centerfielder just beyond the infield dirt, and a pickoff move … he allowed only one leadoff baserunner all night and faced just four baserunners in scoring position (only one reached third base).

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Brittney Bargar

HONORABLE MENTION

Brittney Bargar (Softball; So., RHP; Corona, CA) – Bargar made history by throwing the first six innings of Notre Dame’s no-hit victory over Ball State (3-0); Bargar allowed just a pair of walks and struck out seven while becoming part of the 33rd no-hitter in the program’s history (the first since Heather Booth’s solo no-hitter vs. Rutgers on 4/23/06); Bargar already had a solo no-hitter during her career, doing so in an extra-inning game vs. UConn on 4/1/06 (8 IP); she pitched in seven games during the week of April 16-22, compiling a 2.31 ERA during those games with 31 strikeouts, only 5 walks and 30 hits allowed in 35 IP; she started both games of a doubleheader sweep vs. Western Michigan (9-0, 5-1), winning game-2 (H, 4 Ks) after a short start in the opener (H, 2 Ks); Bargar then had a complete-game win over Valparaiso (7-0; 7 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks) and pitched in 3-of-4 BIG EAST games, as the Irish faced league leaders Louisville and South Florida (she suffered a tough-luck loss in the 3-1 opener with USF, logging the full 7 IP with 9 Ks, 9 hits allowed and a walk).

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Ross Zimmerman

Ross Zimmerman (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., D; Utica, MI) – Zimmerman played a lead role in Notre Dame’s dominating defensive effort versus Lehigh, as the Irish did not allow a goal until the fourth quarter en route to a 14-2 win over Lehigh; the two goals equaled the fewest allowed by an ND lacrosse team since the late 1980s, dating back to a 14-1 win over Lake Forest in 1989 (since then, there now have been eight games in which the Irish have allowed just two goals); ND shut out its opponent for the first time since the 2006 game vs. Bellarmine; the Irish converted 18-of-19 clearing attempts en route to posting the team’s 13th straight victory at home (extending an ND record); Zimmerman has joined with fellow defensive starters Joey Rallo and Sean Dougherty in leading the way for an ND defense that has allowed just 23 goals in the current six-game winning streak.

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Catrina Thompson

Catrina Thompson (Women’s Tennis; Sr.; Las Vegas, NV) – Thompson (#32 in the national singles rankings) received all-BIG EAST honors in both singles and doubles, after leading the 2nd-ranked Irish to the BIG EAST final; she went 2-1 in singles action at the BIG EAST Championships (held at USF) and won all three of her doubles matches, alongside her twin sister Christian; the Thompsons (#11 in the national doubles rankings) opened the postseason with an 8-1 win over UConn’s Christine Burek and Elizabeth Dibbs (at #1 doubles), with Catrina adding a 6-0, 6-0 win over Burek at #1 singles to help complete the 6-0 win over the Huskies; ND’s 4-0 semifinal win over Marquette then included the Thompsons’ win over Maria Calbeto and Kylie Moore (8-1), plus Catrina’s win over Moore (6-1, 6-0); the Thompson’s then closed the tournament with an 8-4 win over USF’s Jessica Sweeting and Gabriela Duch, giving the Irish the doubles point in the BIG EAST final matchup; USF later cut ND’s lead to 3-2, when Shadisha Robinson claimed a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Catrina (with the Bulls going on to post the upset, 4-3); Thompson – who was MVP of the 2005 and ’06 BIG EAST tournaments – will head into the NCAAs with a 25-10 record this season (all at #1 singles) while ranking 7th in ND history for career singles wins (98-47); the Thompsons enter the NCAAs with a 28-8 season record at #1 doubles and 100-38 in their career as a doubles tandem (Catrina’s 105 doubles wins rank 5th in ND history); despite coming one win shy of claiming the program’s third straight BIG EAST title, the Irish will enter the NCAAs with a record of 25-3 and wins in eight of their past nine matches.

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A.J. Pollock

A.J. Pollock (Baseball; Fr., 3B; Hebron, CT) – Pollock earned a spot on the BIG EAST weekly honor roll, after batting 8-for-21 (.421) in a five-game week that included wins over Toledo and Purdue, followed by taking 2-of-3 from West Virginia; Pollock compiled a lofty 1.226 OPS (a .542 on-base pct. plus .684 slugging pct.) in the five games, with 6 RBI, 7 runs scored, a home run, a pair of doubles and a stolen base; he led the Irish with .545 batting in the WVU series (6-for-11, 6 RI, 5 R, HR, 2 2B, 4 BB, SB), including a big effort in the 17-6 game-2 win (3-for-3, 3 BB, 6 RBI, 3 R, HR, 2B); the strong week gave Pollock the top season batting average (.371) among BIG EAST freshmen, with his 23 RBI also representing the most among the league’s rookies (his 27 runs scored are 3rd-most among BIG EAST freshmen).

April 17, 2007

Molly Huddle And Women’s Rowing Varsity Eight Boat Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Six others – Sean Dougherty, Maryann Erigha, Noriko Nakazaki, Balasz Molnar, Jillian Byers and Lucius Polk – earn honorable-mention honors for week of April 9-15.

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Molly Huddle ran the second-fastest women’s 5,000-meter time in the nation this year, at the Mount San Antonio College Relays (15:32.83).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-34 honorees (April 15-21) including All-America distance runner Molly Huddle and the women’s rowing varsity eight boat:

MOLLY HUDDLE
Women’s Track
Senior
Distance
Elmira, New York

Huddle turned in an impressive performance at the annual Mount San Antonio College (SAC) Relays in Walnut, Calif., after covering 5,000 meters in 15:32.83, the 2nd-fastest time in the nation this year as well as 2nd-best in the ND record book (behind her own time of 15:32.55 at Mount SAC in ’04) … the three-time NCAA Mideast Regional 5K champion now owns eight of the top-10 outdoor 5,000-meter times in Notre Dame history, including each of the top-6 (four of her top-5 five times have come at Mount SAC) … she already had posted an NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying time but also finished well below the “A” qualifying standard (15:50) for the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, to be held June 21-24 in Indianapolis … a former 3K winner at the 2003 U.S. Junior National Championships, Huddle also placed 7th (tops among collegians/non-professionals) in the 5K race at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and turned in a 9th-place 5K finish at the 2006 USATF Outdoor meet (15:44.66).

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Julie Sobolewski and fellow junior Amanda Polk – both 2006 All-Americans – are the veteran leaders of Notre Dame’s 2007 varsity eight boat that ranks among the best in the nation this season.

WOMEN’S ROWING VARSITY EIGHT BOAT

The 16th-ranked crew posted three of the biggest wins in the history of the Notre Dame women’s rowing program, with the Irish finishing ahead of both 5th-ranked California (the two-time defending NCAA) and #7 Stanford on the opening day at the Windemere Classic (in Redwood Shores, Calif.) before beating 9th-ranked UCLA on the second day, completing ND’s strong 7-3 overall showing (3-0 in varsity-8) at the two-day event … the varsity eight crew consisted of senior coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), sophomore Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), senior Meghan Boyle (Azuka, Calif.), sophomore Christine Trezza (Staten Island, N.Y.), and the junior group of Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.) … the Irish led Cal from the start and finished in a time of 7:04.46 over the 2,000-meter course, good for a six-second cushion … ND had splits of 1:39.15 following 500 meters, 3:23.712 after 1,000 and 5:14.50 heading into the final 500-meters (the Irish opened their lead after the first 500 meters with a split time of better than four seconds) … the Irish then jumped out on Stanford quickly and finished the race with a more than seven-second advantage (7:17.03) … ND led the Cardinal by better than five seconds after the first 500 meters (1:41.28) and then opened up nearly an eight-second lead after 1,000 (3:26), followed by nearly a 10-second lead at the 1,500-meter mark (5:23.39) … the final day saw ND hold off the Bruins down the stretch, with a winning time of 6:46.50 to edge UCLA by less that three seconds.

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Sean Dougherty

HONORABLE MENTION

Sean Dougherty (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., D; Malvern, PA) – Dougherty led two strong defensive efforts in Great Western Lacrosse League action, as the Irish allowed just 10 goals and 33 shots on goal in wins over Air Force (16-4) and Denver (14-6); he totaled 5 groundballs in the pair of games while helping stop half of the opposition’s man-up chances (3-of-6); recognized as the team’s top defender, Dougherty typically marks the opponent’s top player and should be on pace for all-conference and possible All-America honors; he had a pair of groundballs in the win over Air Force, as the Irish stopped 2-of-3 man-up chances and allowed just 16 total shots; later in the week, Dougherty came up with three groundballs and spearheading a defensive effort that yielded only 17 shots; his season totals include 24 groundballs (5th-most on the team) and a goal in 11 starts while helping ND allow just 6.6 goals per game and stop nearly 70% of the opponent’s man-up chances (27 of 39).

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Maryann Erigha

Maryann Erigha (Women’s Track; Sr., Sprints; Stone Mountain, GA) – Erigha ran several strong races during the west-coast swing, with the first coming at the Azuza Pacific Invitational as she took 3rd in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.68 seconds that qualifies her for the NCAA Mideast Regional; later in the week at the Mount San Antonio College (SAC) Relays in Walnut, Calif., she she ran season-best times in both the 100 (11.63 seconds) and 200 meters (23.67; 8th-best in ND history), improving on her previous NCAA Regional qualifying times in both events; Erigha finished 3rd in the SAC 200-meter race, with her time also boosting her into the top-10 in the Mideast Region; she has booked Regional spots in both the 100 and 200 for the third consecutive year.

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Noriko Nakazaki

Noriko Nakazaki (Women’s Golf; Sr.; Hanover Park, IL) – Nakazaki turned in the best finish by a Notre Dame golfer in the 2006-07 season finishing as the runner-up at the annual Indiana Invitational; she finished the two-round event as runner-up in the 17-team field, after totaling a score of 147 at the par-72, 5,938-yard Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.; it marked the fifth time in nine 2006-07 tournament that Nakazaki has finished in the top-10 and was the seventh top-20 finish of her senior season; Nakazaki – who led the Irish to a 5th-place finish at the Indiana Invitational (302) – remained on pace to break her own ND record for single-season stroke avg. (with a 74.92 mark thus far in ’06-’07) while her 75.82 career stroke avg. also is on pace to be the top mark in the Irish record book.

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Balasz Molnar

Balasz Molnar (Men’s Track; Fr., Hurdles; Dunaujvaros, Hungary) – Molnar blistered the track at the Azusa Pacific Invitational, finishing as the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.87 seconds that ranked 2nd-best in the ND record book and quickest in 50 years (dating back to 1957, when Aubrey Lewis ran a converted time of 50.20 in the 440-yard hurdles); Molnar improved on his earlier qualifying time for the NCAA Mideast Regional, with his time in the Azuza Pacific meet ranking 3rd-best in the region; later in the week, Molnar outdid himself at the Mount San Antonio College (SAC) Relays in Walnut, Calif., circling the Hilmer Lodge Stadium track in 51.50 seconds to place him among the national top-20 in the 440-meter hurdles (also 2nd-best in the Mideast Region and tops among the nation’s freshmen).

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Jillian Byers

Jillian Byers (Women’s Lacrosse; So, A.; Northport, NY) – Byers turned in a hat trick to pace the attack, as the 11th-ranked Irish handed #9 Georgetown its first loss ever in seven seasons of BIG EAST Conference play (13-8); her second goal of the game landed Byers on 100 career goals quickest than any previous ND player (33 games); Byers converted a feed from Caitlin McKinney midway through the opening half, cutting Georgetown’s lead to 3-2; the Hoyas led 4-3 before the Irish took the lead for good with three straight goals, including one from Byers late in the half (6-4); she completed her hat trick with 24 minutes left to play, giving the Irish a 7-6 lead; the win was ND’s first over a top-10 opponent in the 2007 season and was GU’s first BIG EAST regular-season loss, after winning 37 straight (dating back to 2001); the Irish also had defeated the Hoyas in their previous meeting, an 11-3 game in the 2006 NCAA quarterfinals.

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Lucius Polk

Lucius Polk (Men’s Lacrosse; Sr, M.; Washington, D.C.) – Polk has a career-best three assists in the 16-4 win over Air Force before scoring four times in the 14-6 win over Denver, helping complete the strong week of conference play for the 11th-ranked Irish (8-3); Polk assisted on early goals in the Air Force game by Brian Hubschmann (2-1) and Michael Podgajny (3-1; man-up) before setting up a late man-up goal by Will Yeatman (14-3); he started his goal spurt in the Denver game by converting a pass from Hubschmann for a 3-3 tie; Polk also scored a tying goal late in the opening half, with that unassisted score yielding a 5-5 game; ND outcored DU 9-1 over the final 30 minutes, including 6-0 in the 4th quarter … Polk scored early in the 4th (9-6)and later found the net thanks to another assist from Hubschmann, capping the scoring (14-6) and giving the Irish their fifth straight win, an ND record-setting 12th consecutive win at home and a 3-0 start in Great Western Lacrosse League play for the first time since 2002.

April 10, 2007

Kelcy Tefft And Ryan Hoff Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Jane Stoeckert and Michael Podgajny earn honorable-mention honors for week of April 2-8.

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Kelcy Tefft continued her stong season in both singles and doubles while helping the 2nd-ranked Irish women’s tennis team post wins over in-state rivals Purdue and Indiana.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-33 honorees (8-9) including tennis player Kelcy Tefft and lacrosse attackman Ryan Hoff:

KELCY TEFFT
Women’s Tennis
Sophomore
Enid, Oklahoma

Tefft won her singles and doubles matches, as the 2nd-ranked Irish posted wins over two in-state rivals, #46 Purdue (6-1, at ND) and 34th-ranked Indiana (7-0, at IU), pushing the team’s win streak to 15 matches (20-1 overall) … the win over Purdue extended ND’s school-record home wining streak to 28 matches, with Teftt winning alongside freshman Kali Krisik at 32 doubles (8-3 vs. Cigdem Duru and Neela Vaez) before topping Duru in #4 singles (6-3, 6-0) … she then teamed with Krasik for a #2 doubles win at IU (8-3, vs. Sigrid Fischer and Cecile Perton) and followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Fischer at #3 singles … Tefft and Krisik remained unbeaten (4-0) since joining as a team in the previous week’s action while Teftt’s 20-6 singles record includes six straight wins (four while playing up at the #3 spot).

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Ryan Hoff scored five imes in the 15-5 win over Villanova, pushing his team-best season goal total to 22.

RYAN HOFF
Men’s Lacrosse
Sophomore
Attack
Baldwin, Maryland

Hoff scored five goals as 13th-ranked Notre Dame registered a 15-5 win over Villanova … the crease attackman scored his first two goals of the game off assists from Michael Podgajny – just 20 seconds apart – as the Irish ended the opening quarter with a 4-0 lead … ND closed the game on an 8-1 run that included Hoff’s third goal of the game (assisted by Alex Wharton) with six minutes to play late in the 3rd quarter (10-4) … he later beat the clock to convert a feed from Will Yeatman, as the Irish entered the final break with a 12-5 cushion … Hoff capped the scoring with his team-best 22nd goal of the season (assisted by John Greaney).

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Jane Stoeckert

HONORABLE MENTION

Jane Stoeckert (Women’s Lacrosse; So., M; Mendham, NJ) – Stoecker set career highs in points (6), goals (3) and assists (3) to pace the 12th-ranked Irish in a 16-11 win over California (pushing ND’s season record to 10-3); ND battled back from an early 5-2 deficit, despite an earlier goal from Stoeckert that cut Cal’s lead to 3-2; the Irish then called a timeout and closed the opening half with six straight goals, including a score by Caitlin McKinney that was assisted by Stoeckert on a clever passing play (4-5); another Stoekert assist set up a goal by Mary Carpenter late in the half, giving the Irish a 7-5 lead; just 11 seconds into the 2nd half, Stoeckert burst through the defense and fired a shot past the Cal goalkeeper for a 9-5 lead; ND still led 11-7 before rattling off three more goals in a span of 2:07, including a free-position score from Stoeckert; she concluded her 6-point day by assisting on a Heather Fergison goal that made the score 15-8; Stoeckert also scored earlier in the week vs. 4th-ranked Duke, a 20-10 loss (her goal halted a Duke scoring streak and made the ND deficit 4-10, after the Irish had jumped out to a 3-1 lead).

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Michael Podgajny

Michael Podgajny (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., M; Ridley Park, PA) – Podgajny continued his strong season with a career-best 7-point game (3 goals, 4 assists) in the 15-5 win over Villanova; Notre Dame’s 5-0 start to the game included the opening score from Podgajny, after taking a pass from Lucius Polk and scoring on the man-up (ND finished 6-of-7 on man-up chances); Podgajny then assisted Ryan Hoff on back-to-back goals in a span of 20 seconds, giving the Irish a 4-0 cushion at the first break; Villanova responded by scoring the next four goals but the Irish regained the momentum when Podgajny’s pass to Brian Hubschman produced another man-up goal and the 7-4 halftime lead; ND’s 8-1 run to close the game included a goal by Podgajny (9-4), followed by his own man-up score (assisted by Brian Hubschmann; 11-5) and his assist on a goal by Will Yeatman.

April 3, 2007

Stephen Bass And Stephanie Brown Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Another busy week (March 26-April 1) also includes honorable-mention honorees Molly Huddle, Adam Gifford, Alicia Billings, Joey Kemp, Lindsey Ferguson, Patrick Smyth, Brittney Bargar and Jillian Byers.

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Stephen Bass continued his strong play at #1 singles and #3 doubles, as the 5th-ranked Irish men’s tennis team improved to 18-3 during a week that included a win over #8 Illinois.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-32 honorees (March 26-April 1) including the nation’s 8th-ranked tennis singles player Stephen Bass and All-America softball centerfielder Stephanie Brown:

STEPHEN BASS
Men’s Tennis
Senior
Bronxville, New York

Bass won two singles matches (losing only to the nation’s #10-ranked player) and swept all three of his doubles matches during the week, adding to his impressive career totals … the nation’s 8th-ranked singles player opened the week by becoming the eighth ND men’s player ever to reach 100 career singles wins, topped 45th-ranked Nick Rinks of Michigan State (6-3, 7-6) while combining with junior Andrew Roth to beat Jason Norville and Tyler Sauerbray at #3 doubles, as ND shut out MSU (7-0) … the win over MSU gave the Irish an 11-match winning streak, longest by an ND men’s tennis team in 17 years … he and Roth provided the lone highlight for the 5th-ranked Irish in a 7-0 loss to #3 Ohio State, knocking off Steven Moneke and Bryan Koniecko in a tight battle at #3 doubles (9-7), with Bass later losing to Moneke at #1 singles (1-6, 4-6) … Bass completed the strong week by playing a lead role in the 5-2 win #8 Illinois (pushing ND’s record to 18-3), as he combined with Roth to rally past Brandon Davis and Jordan Knue at #3 doubles (8-7) before beating 6th-ranked Kevin Anderson in a battle at #1 singles (4-6, 6-2, 7-5) … Bass and Ross trailed 7-3 but won four straight games to set up the tie-breaker, going on to the win to improve to 15-5 as a doubles tandem in 2006-07 … the top-10 showdown with Anderson was tied 5-5 in the third set before Bass won on serve and got the break to win the match, his 14th win over the season over a ranked opponent (including six vs. top-20 players and three vs. the top-10) … Bass ended the week with a 28-9 overall record in 2006-07 while moving into a tie for 6th on the ND career wins list (101-44).

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Stephanie Brown was named the national softball player of the week, after batting 13-for-18 to help the Irish win all five of their games from March 26-April 1.

STEPHANIE BROWN
Softball
Senior
Centerfielder
Chandler, Arizona

Brown was named the BIG EAST player of the week and then took home national player-of-the-week honors (from the national coaches association), after batting 13-for-18 (.722) with 4 RBI, 5 runs scored, a pair of doubles, a triple and three stolen bases to spark the Irish to a win over Toledo and doubleheader sweeps of Pittsburgh and Syracuse … her four multi-hit games during the week included a 3-hit game in the opener vs. Syracuse, followed by a 4-hit effort in game-2 … Brown started her week going 1-for-3 with a stolen base in the dramatic 4-1 win over Toledo … she then was 5-for-7 in the Pittsburgh doubleheder (2 RBI, 2B, 2 SB), including her first 3-hit game of the week … Brown capped her strong week by going 7-for-8 in the two games vs. Syracuse (2 RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B) … she finished the week with a lofty .477 season batting average from her leadoff spot, plus 8 RBI, 24 runs, 10 stolen bases and a .531 on-base pct.

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Molly Huddle

HONORABLE MENTION

Molly Huddle (Women’s Track; Sr.; Elmira, NY) – Huddle easily worked her way into national contention at 5,000 meters, finishing 3rd in the top heat at the Stanford Invitational (15:50) and logging the 7th-best time in the ND program’s history … the time allowed the All-American to qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional, where she has won the 5K title in each of three previous years (’03, ’04, ’06), also going on to top-4 NCAA finishes each of those seasons.

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Adam Gifford

Adam Gifford (Men’s Golf; Sr.; Plymouth, IN) – Gifford finished in the top-10 for the second time in the past three events, after placing 8th in a talented 90-player field at the Augusta State Invitational … he finished with a 2-under-par 214 (71-74-69) in action at the par-72, 7,265-yard Champions Retreat Golf Club, in Evans, Ga. … Gifford’s past nine rounds have included five under par, with the 214 score coming just one stroke shy of matching his career-best total.

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Alicia Billings

Alicia Billings (Women’s Lacrosse; So., M; Potomac, MD) – Billings was named the BIG EAST defensive player of the week for her play in wins by the 11th-ranked Irish over Connecticut (12-11) and Duquesne (15-7); the defensive midfielder contributed on both sides of the ball in the win over UConn, with two goals, a pair of two ground balls and one caused one turnover; her goals vs. UConn forged ties in the second half (6-6; 7-7), before the Irish went ahead late in the game en route to the narrow win; Billings then was part of a defense that limited Duquesne to seven goals, in addition to scoring her fifth goal of the season, scooping up four ground balls and causing two turnovers; her 11-game season totals also include 4 assists,15 ground balls, 8 draw controls and 4 caused turnovers.

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Joey Kemp

Joey Kemp (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., G; Potomac, MD) – Kemp made 11 saves and led a defensive effort that saw Notre Dame shut out Brown over the final 19 minutes of the game, as the 17th-ranked Irish posted an 11-3 road win over the Bears … he remained among the nation’s top goalies, with a 7.05 goals-against average and .604 save percentage.

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Lindsey Ferguson

Lindsey Ferguson (Women’s Track; Fr.; Greenfield Center, NY) – Ferguson registered the 2nd-fastest time in school history during the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational (10:45.41), earning a spot in the NCAA Mideast Regional field … she put herself in position to eventually make a charge at Katie DeRusso’s school record in the event (10:41.49, set at the 2005 Mideast Regional).

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Patrick Smyth.

Patrick Smyth (Men’s Track; So., Distance; Salt Lake City, UT) – Smyth had a solid debut to his 2007 outdoor track season, qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional and BIG EAST Conference meets in the 5,000 meters with a personal-best time of 13:48 at the Stanford Invitational (the 5th-fastest mark in school history) … Smyth placed 5th in the top heat of the event and was the 2nd-quickest collegian in the field.

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Brittney Bargar

Brittney Bargar (Softball; So., RHP; Corona, CA) – Bargar was named to the BIG EAST softball weekly honor roll for the third time this season (plus an earlier pitcher-of-the-week honor), after going 3-0 with two complete games, a shutout and 21 strikeouts in 20 innings during wins over Toledo (4-1), Pittsburgh (4-0) and Syracuse (7-0) … she only allowed one run all week (0.35 ERA) and limited her three opponents to a batting average of .094 … Bargar threw a 3-hitter with 7 Ks in the win over Toledo and also hit the game-ending home run to beat the Rockets … she then went the distance vs. Pittsburgh (2 H, 8 Ks) and completed her week by throwing the final 6.0 innings in a combined shutout vs. Syracuse (H, 6 Ks) … Bargar still has yet to give up a run to a conference opponent in the 2007 season.

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Jillian Byers

Jillian Byers (Women’s Lacrosse; So., A; Northport, N.Y.) – Byers collected her second BIG EAST player-of-the-week honor of the season, after totaling 10 points (8 goals, 2 assists) for the #11 Irish in wins over Connecticut (12-11) and Duquesne (15-7) … she posted 4G-1A in the win over the Huskies, after converting half of her shots on goal (13 total shots), with her other stats in the game including a ground ball, a draw control and a caused turnover … Byers duplicated her 4G-1A stat line in the win over the Dukes (10 shots/6 on goal, 2 ground balls and a draw control) … she ended the week tied for the lead in points (45; 38G-7A), plus 10 ground balls, 12 draw controls and 6 caused turnovers … Byers has posted 5-plus point in five different games this season and leads the BIG EAST in goals (3.45 per game) while ranking 3rd among the conference’s players in points (4.09/gm).

March 27, 2007

Patrick Ghattas And Kelley Hurley Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Busy week from March 19-25 produces several honorable-mention honorees, including: David Phelps, Maryann Erigha, Ryan Thang, Brittney Barger, Valerie Providenza, Brett Lilley, Heather Johnson, Adi Nott, the men’s track 4X400 relay and the women’s rowing varsity-4 bout.

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Senior sabreist Patrick Ghattas became the third Notre Dame fencer ever to reach three NCAA title bouts during his career.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-31 honorees (March 19-25) including NCAA fencing runner-ups Patrick Ghattas and Kelley Hurley:

PATRICK GHATTAS
Men’s Fencing
Senior
Sabre
Beaverton, Oregon

Ghattas became just the third ND fencer (men or women) ever to reach three or more NCAA title bouts, after going 18-5 in the round-robin and then beating Ben Igoe of Rutgers in the semifinals (15-12; followed by a thrilling 15-14 loss to Harvard’s Tim Hagamen in the title bout) … Ghattas went 6-4 in the round-robin vs. fencers from the other top contending teams, including sweeps of Ohio State (5-4 vs. Mike Momtselidze; 5-3 vs. Sergey Smirnov) and St. John’s (5-0 vs. Torian Brown, 5-4 vs. Luther Clement), plus a 5-2 victory over Columbia’s James Williams and a 5-3 win over Harvard’s Dan Sachs … he also added a noteworthy sweep of the Penn fencers (5-3 vs. Andrew Bielen, 5-4 vs. Matt Kolasa) and topped Stanford All-American Teddy Levitt in a 5-1 bout … Ghattas also became one of six ND men’s fencers ever to reach at least the NCAA semifinals three times, finishing 4th in the 2005 round-robin (18-5) and atop the ’06 round-robin (20-3) before his 3rd-place finish in ’07 (18-5) … he is one of 17 ND fencers (men and women) – including three other men’s sabreists – to be a four-year All-American (he also was 10th in ’04) and finished with the 3rd-most career NCAA round-robin wins ever by an ND men’s fencer (29-23; .750) … Ghattas and ND sophomore Bill Thanhouser (17-6) had the most combined men’s sabre wins at the 2007 NCAAs (35).

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Kelley Hurley concluded her stellar freshman season by finishing as the 2007 NCAA runner-up in women’s epee.

KELLEY HURLEY
Women’s Fencing
Freshman
Epee
San Antonio, Texas

Hurley capped her impressive rookie season by finishing as the NCAA epee runner-up, following a 15-10 semifinal win over Reka Szele of St. John’s and a narrow loss to Wayne State’s Anna Garina in the title bout (13-15; giving Garina her third NCAA title) … the 12th ND freshman (5 men, 7 women) ever to fence in an NCAA title bout, Hurley also finished 2nd in the round-robin (18-5), with a near-perfect 9-1 record vs. fencers from the other top contending teams, including sweeps of fencers from SJU (5-0 vs. Szele and Tanya Novakovska), Columbia (5-3 vs, Tess Finkel and Alexie Rubin), Ohio State (5-1 vs. Leslie Lampman, 5-2 vs. Alexandra Obrazcova) and Harvard (5-2 vs. Maria Larsson and Jasmine McGlade) – plus an early win over Penn State’s Case Szarwark … Hurley nearly could have gone 22-1, as four of her losses came by 5-4 scores … Hurley’s strong debut season had included a 51-4 record in the regular season before winning the women’s epee competitions at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships and the NCAA Midwest Regional (She ended up a couple touches shy of joining foilist Alicja Kryczalo, in ’02 and ’03, as the only ND fencers ever to win the MFC, Regional and NCAA titles in the same year) … her +42 total-points indicator was 5th-best among all 72 women’s entrants at the 2007 NCAAs.

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David Phelps

HONORABLE MENTION

David Phelps (Baseball; So., RHP; Hazelwood, MO) – Phelps was named the BIG EAST Conference pitcher of the week, following his 3-hit shutout performance in a 1-0 classic opposite South Florida ace Danny Otero; Phelps logged the longest outing of his career and reached double-digit strikeouts for the first time (10) while facing just 32 total batters (five over the minimum, with a walk and hit batter) and not allowing any USF runners to venture beyond first base; he located 78 of his 115 pitches for strikes (68%) while holding the potent USF lineup to 0-for-11 batting with runners on base and 1-for-9 with 2-outs (the Bulls lefthanded hitters were limited to a 1-for-12 night and only 2-of-9 USF leadoff batters reached base); Phelps became the first righthanded pitcher to throw a 9-inning solo shutout since J.P. Gagne’s 1-0 win over BYU in 2002; the strong start vs. USF gave Phelps the best ERA among BIG EAST full-time starters (0.92), also ranking 2nd in wins (4-1) and 6th in both low opponent batting avg. (.251) and strikeouts (36); Phelps became the 10th different ND pitcher (done a total of 15 times) to log a 9-inning solo shutout during the past 13 seasons (1995-2007) while his 10 strikeouts marked just the third time among those 15 games that an Irish pitcher has reached double-digit Ks in a 9-inning solo shutout; Phelps joined Gagne as the only ND pitchers to post a 9-inning solo shutout in a 1-0 game since at least the middle of the 1991 season (pending further research), with that span covering at least 964 games.

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Maryann Erigha

Maryann Erigha(Women’s Track; Sr., Sprints; Stone Mountain, GA) – Erigha was had a hand in three Mideast Regional qualifying performances at the Arizona State Cliff Bar Invitational; she led a 1-2-3 ND finish in the 200-meter dash (23.91; regionally qualifying in that event for the fourth consecutive year), before running the third leg on the 4×100-meter relay that won in 45.46 seconds; Erigha also anchored the 4×400-meter relay that finished fourth (3:41.12) and she nearly added a fourth regional qualification, winning the 100-meter dash in 11.77 seconds (.02 shy of the regional minimum).

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Ryan Thang

Ryan Thang (Hockey; Fr., RW; Edina, MN) – Thang was the hero for Notre Dame in the opening round of the NCAA Hockey Championship, drilling a shot from the left wing circle that beat Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Marc Narduzzi over his blocker and under the crossbar to give the Irish the win (3-2) in the longest game in the program’s history (94:42, with 35 minutes of overtime); Thang earlier had scored his 19th goal of the season in the 5th minute of the game for a 2-0 Irish lead, taking a left-corner feed from Erik Condra and ripping a low shot that sent goalie Blake MacNicol to the bench (backup Marc Narduzzi then racked up 49 saves before the winning score); the win pushed ND’s record to 32-6-3 and gave the Irish the program’s first NCAA Tournament win.

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Brittney Bargar

Brittney Bargar (Softball; So., RHP; Corona, CA) – Bargar was named BIG EAST pitcher of the week for the second time in her career, after going 3-0 during the week with a shutout, 20 strikeouts and only 7 hits allowed (.06 opp. batting avg.)in 20 innings; she went the distance in a 6-1 win over IUPUI (R, 4 Ks) and then shut out St. John’s (8-0; 2 H, 8 Ks); Bargar wrapped up her strong week by logging the full 7.0 innings to help edge Seton Hal (2-1; UER, 9 Ks)

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Valerie Providenza

Valerie Providenza (Women’s Fencing; Sr., Sabre; Beaverton, OR) – Providenza became the first ND women’s sabre fencer ever to be a four-year All-American, after placing 4th at the 2007 NCAAs; she placed 2nd in the round-robin (19-3) before losing to eventual champion Daria Schneider of Columbia in the semifinals (14-15) and losing another close decision to a Columbia fencer in the 3rd-place bout (13-15); Providenza’s strong 8-2 showing vs. fencers from the other top contending teams included sweeps of Penn State (5-3 vs. Sophia Hiss, 5-4 vs. Caitlin Thompson) and Ohio State (5-4 vs. Siobhan Byrne, 5-2 vs. Eileen Grench), plus a 5-0 victory over St. John’s standout newcomer Dagmara Wozniak, a 5-1 win over Columbia’s Jacobson and a 5-3 bout with Stanford’s Eva Jellison; Providenza became one of six ND women’s fencers ever to reach the NCAA medal round three-plus times (she also was the ’04 champion and took 4th in ’05) and is one of 17 all-time ND fencers (10 men, 7 women) ever to be a four-year All-American (also 9th in ’06); she also ranked 4th in ND women’s fencing history for career NCAA round-robin wins (71-19) and compiled a +50 in total-points indicators at the 2007 NCAAs (4th-best among all 72 women’s entrants).

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Brett Lilley

Brett Lilley (Baseball; Jr., SS; North Canton, OH) – Lilley was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll, after batting .571 (12-for-21, 3 RBI, 9 R, HR, 2 3B) in five games; he continued to be team’s top offensive player from his leadoff spot last week while raising his season batting avg. to .395 (10th in the BIG EAST) and run total to 26 (4th), also ranking 5th among BIG EAST players in on-base pct. (.495) and hits (34); Lilley’s strong week included a 1.545 OPS, with a .640 on-base pct. plus a .907 slugging pct.; he became the ninth ND player ever to score 5-plus runs in a game (5), after batting 4-for-5 with a walk in the 17-9 win over Western Michigan (2 RBI. 3B); Lilley joined former All-America 3B Matt Macri (’04) as the only ND players ever to have 5 hits and 5 runs in different games during their careers (Lilley went 5-for-5 vs. Cincinnati in ’05); he led off game-2 of the USF series with a triple (2-for-4, 2 R) and then homered to start game-3 for the Irish offense (3-for-5); Lilley also went 1-for-3 (R) in the home-opener win over Cleveland State and hit 2-for-4 in the game-1 pitchers duel with the Bulls.

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Heather Johnson

Heather Johnson (Softball; Fr., 3B; Los Alamitos, CA) – Johnson was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after batting .538 (7-for-13) with 6 RBI and 5 doubles in ND’s 5-0 week; she opened the week by going 3-for-3 in the 6-1 win over IUPUI (2 RBI, R, 2 2B) before walking twice and scoring a run in the doubleheader vs. St. John’s; Johnson added a 3-hit effort in game-2 vs. Seton Hall (4 RBI, R), with her 3 doubles tying the 15-year-old ND record set by Sara Hayes in 1992.

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Adi Nott

Adi Nott(Women’s Fencing; So., Foil; Pittsford, NY) – Nott capped her strong season by placing 3rd in the NCAA foil round-robin (18-5) and then matching that placement in the medal round, following a semifinal loss to Monika Golebiewski of St. John’s (3-15) before edging Penn State’s Tamara Najm in the 3rd-place bout (9-8/OT); Nott stood in 2nd place after day-1 (12-2), with key wins over Northwestern’s Jessica Florendo and Sam Nemecek (both 5-1), Ohio State’s Julia Tikhonova (5-3), PSU’s Najm (5-2) and Penn’s Abigail Emerson (5-1); her top wins on the final day came vs. Columbia’s Kathleen Reckling (5-0) and the Harvard duo of Arielle Pensler (5-1) and Misha Goldfeder (3-2) … Nott’s +42 in total-point indicators tied for 5th-best in the entire 72-fencer women’s field.

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Ryan Postel

Men’s Track 4×400 Relay Team – senior Jordan Powell (Springfield, Ill.), junior Austin Wechter (Shelby, Ohio), freshman Balazs Molnar (Dunaujvaros, Hungary) and senior Ryan Postel (Lexington, Ky.) combined to run the 2nd-fastest 4×400-meter relay in ND history (3:09.38; just shy of the 3:08.11 record), qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional with that time at the ASU Invitational; Postel also posted a regional qualifying time in the 400-meter dash for the third time in four years (47.20) while Molnar qualified for the regional with his 4th-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles (52.36; 3rd-best in ND history) and Wechter added the 8th-fastest 400 hurdle time in the Irish record books (52.72).

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Shannon Cassel

Women’s Rowing Varsity Four Boat – The 11th-ranked Notre Dame women’s rowing team saw its varsity four boat win a four-team race in Belleville, Mich., with the Irish topping boats from 15th-ranked Michigan, No. 14 Michigan State and Clemson; the crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley, Laura Petnuch, Anni Nowhitney, Shannon Cassel and Mary Kate McNamara won by nearly 10 seconds (7:50.76), followed by MSU (8:00.31) and Michigan (8;18.14).

March 20, 2007

David Brown And Cole Isban Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Five others – Cosmina Ciobanu, Sheeva Parbhu, Eric Condra, Noriko Nakazaki and Wes O’Neill – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of March 12-18.

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David Brown’s stellar 2006-07 season included earning the CCHA player-of-the-year award and being named MVP of the CCHA Tournament.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-30 honorees (March 12-18) including hockey Hobey Baker candidate David Brown and senior golfer Cole Isban:

DAVID BROWN
Hockey
Senior
Goaltender
Stoney Creek Ontario

Brown proved his status as one of the leading candidates for the Hobey Baker national player-of-the-week award, after being named the CCHA player of the year and MVP of the CCHA Tournament (when he compiled a 0.75 goals-against avg. and .966 save pct., in four games) … Brown posted the 3-0 shutout of Lake Superior in the CCHA semifinals, stopping all 17 shots he faced to send ND to the CCHA title game for the first time since 1982 … he then gave up the first goal of the game in the title showdown with Michigan but went on to total 31 saves as the Irish beat the Wolverines 2-1, in front of more than 16,000 fans at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena … Brown helped hold LSSU and Michigan without a power-play goal (both 0-for-5) while playing a lead role in ND’s first CCHA Tournament title (spanning 17 years in the league) … he was set to enter the NCAAs with the nation’s top GAA (1.58) and highest win total (29-6-3), plus the nation’s 2nd-best save pct. (.931) and 2nd-most shutouts (6).

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Cole Isban’s 7-under 209 at the Border Olympics produced the best score under par in Notre Dame men’s golf history.

COLE ISBAN
Men’s Golf
Senior
South Bend, Indiana

Isban’s impressive showing on the spring break trip began by placing 8th at the inaugural Triumph at Pauma Valley (Calif.), battling through a stomach virus to card a 216 (73-70-73) at the Pauma Valley Country Club (par-71/7,077 yards) … after helping the Irish finish as the runner-up (863) at the first spring-break event, Isban turned in a record-setting performance at the 56th annual Border Olympics, held at the Laredo (Texas) Country Club (par-72/7,241 yards) … he was one off the lead after opening with rounds of 70 and 68 (his fourth round in the 60s of the 2006-07 season) before closing with a 71 for a 7-under-par 209 that set the ND record for the best 54-hole tournament score, in relation to par (four previous ND golfers had gone 6-under at 54-hole events, a total of five times) … the 209 also tied the ND mark for low 54-hole score, matching Jeff Connell’s score at the 1998 Marshall Invitational (-4/par-71) … Isban placed 5th at the Border Olympics for his second top-5 finish of his senior season and eighth of his career (ND’s 6th-place finish included a 1-over 865 team score, good for 6th-best in the ND record book).

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Ryan Hoff

HONORABLE MENTION

Ryan Hoff (Men’s Lacrosse; So., A; Baldwin, MD) – Hoff tied a school record with seven goals in a game, leading the 16th-ranked Irish to a 16-5 win at #19 Drexel … ND trailed 2-1 entering the 2nd quarter before Hoff helped ignite a 13-0 ND run that stretch in to the 3rd period … Hoff’s second goal of the game (assisted by Taylor Clagett) forged the 2-2 tie and the crease attackman later converted a pass from Will Yeatman gave the Irish a 7-2 lead midway through the 3rd quarter … Hoff’s four-goal outburst helped seal the win, pushing the lead to 13-2 with 12 minutes left to play … the ND record for goals in a game (7) originally was set by Randy Colley in 1993 against New Hampshire, with Hoff becoming the first Irish player to score seven times in a road game (eight previous ND players had 6-goal games on the road).

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Cosmina Ciobanu

Cosmina Ciobanu (Women’s Tennis; Fr., Brea, CA) – Ciobanu played a lead role in 2nd-ranked Notre Dame’s 4-3 win over #23 Duke, in San Diego; combined with fellow freshman Kali Krisik to beat Duke at #3 doubles (8-4 over Tory Zawacki and Amanda Granson) – helping the Irish take the doubles point – before her comeback win at #5 singles (2-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Zawicku) providing the decisive win over the Blue Devils in the final match of the day; also won in doubles (8-4 over Victoria Jones and Connor Vogel; at #3 with Krisik) and singles (6-2, 6-0 over Jones, at #5) later in the week, as the Irish knocked off #19 Tennesee, 6-1; her impressive rookie season has included a 26-4 record in singles and 18-5 as a doubles tandem with Krisik while holding a #31 singles ranking (she and Krisik are the nation’s #52 doubles pair).

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Sheeva Parbhu

Sheeva Parbhu (Men’s Tennis; Jr., Omaha, NE) – Parbhu was unbeaten in his singles action while helping lead the 7th-ranked Irish men’s tennis squad improved to 15-2, after claiming the team title at the prestigious Blue Gray Tennis Classic, in Montgomery, Ala.; the ND #2 singles player started the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Raul Morant-Rivas of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before supplying the clinching win in the 4-1 victory over #40 Auburn (7-5, 6-3 over Robbert Lathouwers, who entered the day with an 11-0 record); helped Irish rebound from losing the doubles point in the semifinals, as his win over Federico Soriano (6-4, 6-2) helped secure a 4-1 win over #26 Tulsa; ND then overcame losing the doubles in the title matchup, going on to a 4-1 win over #14 Alabama that included Parbhu owning a 6-0, 3-5 lead over Joseph Jung when the match was abandoned; the Irish also won the Blue Gray in 1993 and 2001; Parbhu (#57 in the national singles rankings) extended his season singles record to 22-9 while pushing closer to 100 career singles wins (22-9); the Irish departed the Blue Gray with a nine-match season win streak, longest by an ND men’s tennis team since 2001.

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Erik Condra

Erik Condra (Hockey; So., C; Livonia, MI) – Condra was one of three Irish hockey players named to the CCHA all-tournament team, after helping post a 3-0 semifinal win over Lake Superior State and the 2-1 victory over Michigan in the title game; he assisted on the second goal of the LSSU game, after taking a pass from Ryan Thang behind the net and sending it on to Brock Sheahan, whose shot from the left point tipped off a defender and over the goalie’s blocker for the 2-0 lead midway through the 2nd period; he later combined with Thang to assist on Christian Hanson’s empty-netter that capped the win with 2:27 left to play, sending the Irish to their first CCHA title game since 1982; Condra then combined with his linemates Thang and Kevin Deeth to notch the game-tying goal vs. Michigan in the title game, knocking home a rebounded shot after Deeth tried to stuff in a score from behind the net (for a 1-1 game, late in the 2nd period); led the Irish in scoring during the four CCHA Tournament games (1G-7A), as ND extended its season record to 31-6-3.

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Noriko Nakazaki

Noriko Nakazaki (Women’s Golf; Sr.; Hanover Park, IL) – Nakazaki continued to excel as she nears the end of her Irish career, placing 6th at the University of Texas Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational; she finished with a 7-over 223 (75-75-73) in action at the par-72 University of Texas Golf Club, helping the Irish place 8th (927; 314-315-308) versus the talented field of teams; Nakazaki remained on pace to break her own ND record for single-season stroke average (75.04) and also is on track to finish with the best career stroke avg. in ND women’s golf history (75.86), with her 123 career rounds included 116 counted to the 4-player team score (including 23 of 23 rounds counted in ’06-’07).

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Wes O’Neill

Wes O’Neill (Hockey; Sr.; D; Essex, ONT) – O’Neill continued to lead one of the nation’s top defenses while extending his goal streak to three games, earning a spot on the CCHA all-tournament team as the Irish hockey team claimed its first CCHA Tournament title, in 17 seasons of membership in the conference; helped limit Lake Superior State and Michigan to a total of 49 shots on goal while anchoring a penalty-kill unit that held both opponents to 0-for-5 games on the power play; did not score in the first 36 games of the season but found the net for the third straight game in the 3-0 semifinal vs. LSSU, after drifting in from the left point and snapping a wrist shot from the slot for the power-play score and a 1-0 lead at the 9:46 mark (Mark Van Guilder took a pass from Noah Babin and fed the puck to O’Neill from the left circle; O’Neill and the ND defense allowed just 17 shots in the semifinal and 32 in the 2-1 title game with Michigan, in front of a crowd of 16, 481 at Joe Louis Arena.

March 13, 2007

Katie Carroll And Adi Nott Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Seven others – Thomas Chamney, Wes O’Neill, Christa Riggins, Tory Jackson, Jake Watson, Kelley Hurley and Garrett Regan – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of March 5-11.

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Katie Carroll – shown receiving the Most Outatanding Swimmer Award at the 2007 BIG EAST meet – capped her stellar collegiate career by competing in six events at the 2007 NCAAs, with an All-America finish in the 400 IM (7th) and an honorable mention All-America showing in the 200 butterfly (11th).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-29 honorees (March 5-11) including All-America swimmer Katie Carroll and foil fencer Adi Nott:

KATIE CARROLL
Women’s Swimming
Senior
Individual Medley/Freestyle/Butterfly
Toledo, Ohio

Carrroll closed her standout career by adding to her resume as the most accomplished swimmer in Notre Dame history … her top showing at the 2007 NCAAs produced her second All-America finish, by placing 7th in the 400-yard individual medley (4:12.47) … she earlier had placed 7th in the 400 IM preliminaries, with a school-record time of 4:12.02 … Carroll played a lead role in Notre Dame’s 27th-place finish at the NCAAs, with an honorable mention All-America showing in the 200 butterfly (12th place; 1:58.10) and a 22nd-place finish in the 200 IM (2:00.09) … her 11th-place finish in the 200 butterfly preliminaries saw her post a time of 1:57.58 that broke the school record of 1:58.39 (set by Lisa Garcia, in 2002) … she also swam on three freestyle relay teams at the NCAAs, placing 23rd in the 200 race (1:32.70, with junior Caroline Johnson, sophomore Christa Riggins and senior Rebecca Grove) before a 14th-place showing in the 800 (7:14.91, with Riggins, freshman Megan Farrell and xx Ellen Johnson) and 20th place in the 400 (3:22.22, with Farrell, Riggins and Grove) … Carroll’s previous All-America performance was a 6th-place finish in the 400 IM, at the 2005 NCAAs.

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Foilist Adi Nott continued her strong sophomore season by winning the NCAA Midwest Regional title, with wins over a pair of Northwestern rivals in her final two bouts.

ADI NOTT
Women’s Fencing
Sophomore
Foil
Pittsford, New York

Nott won the NCAA Midwest Regional women’s foil title, after closing with wins over two of her top rivals from Northwestern, besting Jessica Florendo in a 15-10 semifinal before edging Samantha Nemecek in a defensive-minded final (8-6) … she entered the Regional as the #2 seed and moved to the top spot after the pool bouts, followed by wins over Ohio State fencers Courtney Streithorst (15-4) and Holly McKibben (15-2) … Nott joined teammate Kelley Hurley (epee) and former foil standout Alicjoa Kryczalo as the only Notre Dame women ever to win a Midwest Fencing Conference title and a Midwest Regional in the same year.

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Thomas Chamney

HONORABLE MENTION

Thomas Chamney (Men’s Track; Sr., Middle Distance; Tipperary, Ireland) – Chamney battled through illness and jetlag fatigue (after a pair of trans-Atlantic flights last week for the European Indoor Championships, where he reached the semifinals) to finish 8th in the 800-meter race (1:50.74) at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.; it was the third career All-America finish for Chamney, who placed 6th in both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter races during the 2006 season; he become the first Notre Dame individual to earn All-America honors in the same indoor event in consecutive years since Luke Watson pulled off that feat in the 3,000 meters in 2002 and ’03; Chamney earlier had qualified for the 2007 NCAA 00-meter finals with a time of 1:49.06 that was 3rd-fastest in the 16-runner field.

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Wes O’Neill

Wes O’Neill (Hockey; Sr., D; Essex, Ontario) – O’Neill scored his first two goals of the season and anchored an ND defense that limited Alaska to a pair of goals and 39 shots – while helping stop 10-of-11 Nanook power plays – as the Irish advanced in the CCHA playoffs with a pair of wins (7-1, 3-1); the first game of the series came from O’Neill, who was set up in front and took a pass from Kevin Deeth before beating the goalie to the stick side; O’Neill then scored what proved to be the gamewinning goal (2-0) in the series clincher, after deflecting in a Jason White shot for the power-play goal.

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Christa Riggins

Christa Riggins (Women’s Swimming; So., Freestyle; Phoenix, AZ) – Riggins swam in two individual events and three relays at the 2007 NCAAs, helping the Irish finish 27th in the team standings; her time of 1:48.46 in the 200 freestyle (34th place) was 3rd-best in ND history; she also placed 59th in the 100 free (50.75) while competing on three freestyle relay teams at the NCAAs, finishing 23rd in the 200 race (1;32.70, with xxx Caroline Johnson, and seniors Katie Carroll and Rebecca Grove) and then 13th in the 800 event (7:14.91, with freshman Megan Farrell, senior Ellen Johnson and Carroll), plus 20th in the 400 free relay (3:22.22, with Farrell, Carroll and Grove).

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Tory Jackson

Tory Jackson (Men’s Basketball; Fr., G; Saginaw, MI) – The freshman Jackson played like a seasoned veteran at the BIG EAST Tournament, totaling 28 points, 14 assists (vs. just 4 turnovers), 13 rebounds and 4 steals in two games, as the Irish topped Syracuse in the quarterfinals (89-83) before an 84-82 loss to BIG EAST regular-season and postseason champion Georgetown (which went on to reach the NCAA Final Four); Jackson played all 40 minutes in each game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor (10-for-21) and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line in the two games; his solid all-around game in the win over SU included 8 points (2-5 FG, 1-2 on 3s, 3-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 9 assists and only pair of turnovers, plus 4 steals; Jackson then had 20 points in the loss to GU (8-16 FG, 4-5 FT) – one shy of his season-high scoring total – while adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists (2 TO) and a steal.

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Jake Watson

Jake Watson (Men’s Track; So., Middle Distance; Stillwater, MN) – Watson placed 10th in the mile run at the 2007 NCAA Indoors (4:03.97), joining his older brother Luke (a six-time track All-American) as the first siblings in the 117-year history of the Notre Dame track-and-field program to be recognized as All-Americans; he earlier had placed 2nd in his preliminary heat at the NCAAs (4:03.66).

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Kelley Hurley

Kelley Hurley (Women’s Fencing; Fr., Epee; San Antonio, TX) – Hurley claimed the NCAA Midwest Regional women’s epee title, with her big win coming in a 15-14 semifinal with Wayne State’s Anna Garina (the 2004 and ’05 NCAA champion); she followed with a 15-5 win over Ohio State’s Leslie Lampman in the Regional title bout; Hurley was the #1 pre-Regional seed and maintained that standing after the pool rounds, followed by a 15-7 win over Northwesern’s Christa French in the round-of-8; she became one of three ND women ever to win a Midwest Fencing Conference title and a Midwest Regional in the same year.

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Garrett Regan

Garrett Regan (Hockey; So., LW; Hastings, MN) – Regan registered his first 3-point game of the season (2G-1A; +2 plus-minus ratio) in the postseason opener vs. Alaska (7-1) before adding an assist in the second game (3-1), as the Irish advanced past the Nanooks in the CCHA quarterfinals; he took a drop pass from Noah Babin and rifled in a shot for his 13th goal of the season and an early 2-0 lead in game-1, later converting a pass from Wes O’Neill as the Irish scored moments after a power-play ended for a 4-0 lead late in the opening period; the Irish stretched to a 7-0 lead later in the game, as Mark Van Guilder steered in a Regan pass; Regan also picked up the secondary assist on O’Neill’s power-play goal in game-2 of the Alaska series (2-0), with that score ending up as the gamewinning goal.

March 6, 2007

Kelley Hurley And Brett Lilley Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Five others – Jillian Byers, Jakub Jedrkowiak, Linda Kohan, Christian Thompson and Adi Nott – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Feb. 26-March 4.

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Kelley Hurley carried the momentum of her regular season (51-4 record) by winning Midwest Fencing Conference titles in the individual and team women’s epee events.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-28 honorees (Feb. 26-March 4) including fencing epee standout Kelley Hurley and baseball third baseman Brett Lilley:

KELLEY HURLEY
Women’s fencing
Freshman
Epee
San Antonio, Texas

Hurley followed up her impressive 51-4 record in the regular-season by winning the women’s epee title at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, also helping lead the Irish women’s epeeists to an MFC title in the team portion of the competition … Hurley maintained her own top MFC seed by going undefeated in her pool bouts, followed by 15-11 wins over highly-regarded Northwestern newcomer Kayley French (in the quarterfinals), two-time NCAA champion Anna Garina of Wayne State in the semifinals, and Ohio State’s Alexandra Obrazcova in the final … she then combined with senior Amy Orlando, sophomore Kim Montoya and senior Eleanor Leighton to win the MFC women’s epee team title, capped by a 5-4 semifinal win over Wayne State and a 5-3 decision over Ohio State in the final … Hurley posted wins in the semifinals over Garina (5-4), her fellow All-American Justyna Konczalska (5-2) and Alice Schneider (5-1) … her 5-2 win over Elyse Gurnowski put the Irish up 2-0 on OSU in the final and Hurley later scored an off-balance touch to defeat Obrazcova, helping deliver the women’s epee team title.

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Brett Lilley broke out of his early slump be batting 4-for-5 to lead the 16-6 win over 7th-ranked Nebraska.

BRETT LILLEY
Baseball
Junior
Infielder
North Canton, Ohio

Lilley snapped out of an early-season slump by posting his fifth career game with 4-plus hits, batting 4-for-5 from his leadoff spot to spearhead the 16-6 win over 7th-ranked Nebraska … that primetime effort game him a .455 batting average at the Stetson Invitational (5-for-11), with his other stats for the week including a 1.227 OPS (.500 on-base pct., .727 slugging pct.), 3 runs scored, an RBI, a triple, a double, a walk, a pair of strikeouts and one error in 11 chances at third base … Lilley doubled and scored in the first game vs. Stetson, as the Irish claimed an early 4-0 lead but lost 5-4 … he then had a walk in the rain-shortened loss to Iowa (8-1) before pushing his season batting avg. to .313 with the 4-for-5 game vs. Nebraska (RBI, 2 R, 3B) … launched his first career triple and scored to open the game vs. the Cornhuskers, as the Irish jumped out to 5-0 lead in the 1st inning … he added a 2nd-inning single and then delivered a clutch 2-out, 2-strike RBI single as the Irish retook the lead (6-5) … Lilley later helped invoke the 10-run rule with his single and run scored in the 7th.

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Jillian Byers

HONORABLE MENTION

Jillian Byers (Women’s Lacrosse; So., A; Northport, NY) – Byers was named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week after totaling six goals, a pair of assists and eight draw controls in top-20 battles with 3rd-ranked Northwestern (10-18) and #16 Cornell (13-9); had 3G-1A in the loss to two-time defending NCAA champion before duplicating that stat line in the win over the Big Red; Byers leads the 2007 team in scoring with 17 points (15G-2A) and now has totaled 95 career points (69G-26A) in just 23 games played (current junior Caitlin McKinney holds the ND record for quickest to 100 points, doing so in 33 games).

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Jakub Jedrkowiak

Jakub Jedrkowiak (Men’s Fencing; Jr., Foil; Leszno, Poland) – Jedrkowiak entered the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships as the 3-seed but went on to win the MFC title, with his most noteworthy bout coming in the quarterfinals when he edged Ohio State’s Andras Horanyi (the 2006 NCAA runner-up), 15-14; he opened the MFCs with a 4-0 mark in pool bouts but slipped to a #10 seed for the direct-elimination, due to a logjam of undefeated fencers having better total-point indicators; Jedrkowiak rallied from an 11-6 deficit to beat Horanyi, followed by a 15-13 semifinal win over OSU’s Will Jeter and a 15-4 title bout vs. OSU upstart Joe Streb; the two-time All-American also posted wins over OSU Dimitri-Kirk Gordon (5-1) and Jeter (5-2) in the MFC men’s foil team final, but the Buckeyes claimed the narrow 5-4 win.

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Linda Cohan

Linda Kohan (Softball; So., 2B; Westminster, CA) – Kohan helped lead the Irish to a 3-1 record at the Jacksonville Invitational, batting 5-for-12 with 4 RBI, 3 runs scored, 4 doubles and a walk in the tournament; had an RBI double and later scored winning run in first game with Virginia (4-1), adding a 2-run double, walk and run scored in the 7-2 win over Jacksonville before going 2-for-3 in the second win over UVa (6-3; RBI, R, 2B).

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Christian Thompson

Christian Thompson (Women’s Tennis; Sr.; Las Vegas, NV) – Thompson played a lead role for the 2nd-ranked Irish in wins over #23 Texas A&M (5-2) and #19 Texas (7-0), pushing the team’s record to 12-1; combined with her sister Catrina to avoid the upset bid of A&M’s Tiffany Clifford and Sarah Foster, in #1 doubles (the 5th-ranked Thompsons battled back from a 5-2 deficit to win, 8-6); she added a win at #2 singles over A&M’s Elze Potgieter (7-5, 6-2) and later outlasted 100th-ranked Courtney Zauft of Texas (6-1, 2-6, 6-3), giving her an 11-8 singles record for the season (8-4 in dual matches); she also joined her sister in winning a doubles battle vs. Texas, edging Petra Dizdar and Ristine Olson in an 8-6 match, giving the Thompsons a 17-5 overall doubles record this season (89-36 in their career).

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Adi Nott

Adi Nott (Women’s Fencing; So., Foil; Pittsford, NY) – Nott was one of three from Notre Dame to win an individual title at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, taking the women’s foil title in a 15-6 bout with Northwesern’s Samantha Nemecek; she earlier had kept her top seed by going 6-0 in her pool bouts before besting teammate Rachel Cota in the round-of-16 and Ohio State’s Holly McKibben in the quarterfinals (both by 15-2 scores), followed by a 15-10 semifinal bout with Northwestern’s Jessica Florendo; she also posted wins over Courtney Streithorst (5-1) and Julia Tikhonova (5-2) in the MFC women’s foil team semifinals (the Buckeyes claimed the 5-4 win).

Feb. 27, 2007

Tory Jackson And Caitlin McKinney Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Five others – David Phelps, Stephanie Brown, Brett Hegelson, Michael Podgajny and Luke Harangody – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Feb. 19-25.

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Freshman point guard Tory Jackson had an impressive week in wins over DePaul and 16th-ranked Marquette.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-27 honorees (Feb. 19-25) including basketball point guard Tory Jackson and high-scoring lacrosse attack Caitlin McKinney:

TORY JACKSON
Men’s Basketball
Freshman
Guard
Saginaw, Michigan

Jackson was named the BIG EAST rookie of the week after averaging 17.0 points (on 57.1 percent field-goal shooting), 8.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in wins over DePaul (78-54) and #16 Marquette (85-73) … scored 13 points against DePaul while grabbing a season-high nine rebounds and adding six assists … played all 40 minutes in the win over Marquette (ND’s fourth victory of the season over a ranked opponent) while pouring in a season-high 21 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), plus seven assists and seven rebounds … had played in all 28 games for the Irish (with 16 straight starts), reaching double-digit scoring in five straight games (and nine times overall in 2006-07).

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Caitlin McKinney’s six goals in the win over 18th-ranked Stanford included the gamewinner in the closing moments of the second overtime.

CAITLIN McKINNEY
Women’s Lacrosse
Junior
Attack
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania

McKinney was named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week, after registering career-high totals in goals (6, including the gamewinner) and points (7) to lead the 5th-ranked Irish past #18 Stanford in double overtime (12-11) … scored four times in the first half, with the teams entering the break tied 8-8 … her free-position shot with 7:10 left in regulation but Stanford’s lead to 11-10 and she assisted on Lena Zentgraf’s game-tying goal three minutes later … scored unassisted for the eventual winning goal, just seven seconds before the game would have entered sudden-death OT … ended the Stanford game with 113 career points (78G-35A) in 36 games played … as a sophomore, she reached 100 career points quicker (33 games) than any player in the history of ND women’s lacrosse.

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David Phelps

HONORABLE MENTION

David Phelps (Baseball; So., RHP; Hazelwood, MO) – Phelps was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after helping knock off #12 TCU (4-1), at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; allowed just an unearned run by TCU (on five hits and a walk) while striking out five of his 24 batters faced in 6.0 innings; he earlier had pitched well enough to beat Texas State during opening week (no-decision, in 2-1 loss); ended the TCU game with a 0.82 season ERA – 3rd-best among BIG EAST pitchers with 11-plus innings – plus 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

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Stephanie Brown

Stephanie Brown (Softball; Sr., CF; Chandler, AZ) – Brown posted four multiple-hit games at the Palm Springs Tournament, as the Irish went 2-3 vs. five top opponents; she hit 11-for-18 (.611) during the week and score five times from her leadoff spot, adding three stolen bases; Brown switched to first base for three games and played flawlessly at the new defensive role; her top games during the week included batting 3-for-4 in the comeback win over UNLV (her hit started the 2-out rally, also had a SB), 2-for-4 vs. #9 Oklahoma (R) and 2-for-3 against #17 California (R).

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Brett Hegelson

Brett Hegelson (Men’s Tennis; So.; Overland Park, KS) – Hegelson won both of his matches at #3 singles and was unbeaten with senior Barry King at #2 doubles, as 9th-ranked Notre Dame posted wins over #22 Michigan (5-2) and #45 Northwestern (7-0); after entering the week listed 94th in the national singles rankings, Hegelson registered the clinching win vs. Michigan (6-4, 6-4, vs. Andrew Mazlin); he and King were beating UM’s Ryan Heller and Mazlin (6-5) when the match was vacated after ND had clinched the doubles point; added a 6-1, 6-3 win over Northwestern’s Christian Tempke, also teaming with King to win a back-and-forth battle with Alex Sanborn and Mark Dwyer (8-7); ended the week with a 17-5 season singles record (9-2 in dual meets) while he and King have combined for a 16-6 doubles mark (8-3 dual).

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Michael Podgajny

Michael Podgajny (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., M; Ridley Park, PA) – Podgajny’s career-best four goals and six points led the 11th-ranked Irish to an 11-8 win at Penn State; Notre Dame faced an early 2-0 deficit before a Podgajny scored sparked five straight goals for the Irish (he also assisted on an Alex Wharton goal in that spurt); his man-up goal in the first minute of the second half later gave ND an 8-3 lead, followed by an assist from Podgajny on a Will Yeatman goal; PSU closed to 10-8 before Podgajny’s final goal capped the scoring.

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Luke Harongody

Luke Harongody (Men’s Basketball; Fr., F; Scherville, IN) – Harongody was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll while also being named national freshman of the week (per Rivals.com), after averaging a double double (17.5 points, 10.0 rebonds) in the wins over DePaul (78-54) and #16 Marquette (85-73); Harongody posted 13 points and 7 rebounds vs. DePaul before hitting for a season-high 22 points and matching his season-high rebound total (13) in the battle with Marquette; he had appeared in the first 28 games of the season (starting 12 straight) while ranking fourth on the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.3 rpg), with 13 double-double games.

Feb. 20, 2007

Katie Carroll And Thomas Chamney Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Ten others – Joey Kemp, Jillian Byers, Noah Babin, Catrina Thompson, John Lytle, Heather Johnson, Garet Koxlien, Julia Quinn, Ted Brown and Anna Weber – receive honorable mention for their efforts during Notre Dame’s busiest all-around week of 2006-07 (Feb. 12-18).

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Katie Carroll compiled 15 BIG EAST titles in her career while setting a Notre Dame women’s swimming record with 28 career all-BIG EAST performacnes.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-26 honorees (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) including the dynamic tennis doubles pair of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft, plus distance runner Jake Watson:

KATIE CARROLL
Women’s Swimming
Senior
Individual Medley, Butterfly, Freestyle
Toledo, Ohio

Carroll cemented her status as one of the most dominant student-athletes in Notre Dame history by winning two individual events and swimming on two first-place relay teams at the BIG EAST Championships, also adding three other all-BIG EAST finishes … her 15 career BIG EAST titles rank as the 3rd-most in the history of ND women’s swimming, behind Kelly Hecking (19) and current ND head coach Carrie Nixon (18) … Carroll set the ND record for career all-BIG EAST performances (28), including 12 in individual events and 16 in relays (also both ND records) … Nixon had held two of those records (24 total all-BE honors, 15 relay) and shared the other (9 individual), with Hecking and Carroll (prior to ’06-’07) … led Irish to the program’s 11th straight BIG EAST title in 2007, after winning the 500-yard freestyle (school-record 4:45.50) and 400 individual medley (4:16.25; NCAA “B” consideration time) and swimming on the victorious 800 and 200 free relay teams … Christa Riggins, Casey Wagner and Megan Farrell joined Carroll on the 800 relay time that set a school record time of 7:15.16 (NCAA consideration) … Caroline Johnson, Christa Riggins and Rebecca Grove were member of the 200 relay team that also posted a school record and NCAA “B” time (1:31.85) … added all-BIG EAST finishes in the 200 butterfly (2nd; 2:00.87; NCAA “B” time), the 400 medley relay (3rd; 3:43.20; NCAA “B” time; with Johnson, Julia Quinn and Ann Barton) and the 400 free relay (3rd; 3:22.17; with Johnson, Riggins and Grove) … she was set to swim the 200 and 400 IM, 200 butterfly and two relay events (200 and 800 free) at the 2007 NCAAs … a former All-American in the 400 IM (placing 6th at the ’05 NCAAs) and a four-time honorable mention All-American, the Olympic hopeful holds ND records in the 500 free (4:45.50), 1,000 free (9:49.80), 200 IM (1:58.52), 400 IM (4:13.13) and 800 free relay (7:15.36).

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Thomas Chamney repeated as the BIG EAST champion in the 800-meter indoor race, finishing in a time of 1:51.76.

THOMAS CHAMNEY
Men’s Track
Senior
Middle Distance
Tipperary, Ireland

Chamney repeated as the BIG EAST Conference champion in the indoor 800 meters, finishing in a time of 1:51.76 … he became just the seventh Notre Dame men’s track-and-field competitor ever to win multiple BIG EAST titles … Chamney also combined with John Cavanaugh, Brett Adams and Adam Currie on the 4×800-meter relay team that won the BIG EAST title, in a time of 1:52.39 while pushing his career all-BIG EAST finishes to nine (five in indoor track).

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Joey Kemp

HONORABLE MENTION

Joey Kemp (Men’s Lacrosse; Jr., G; Potomac, MD) – Kemp was named the Great Western Lacrosse League player of the week for the first time in his career, after making 9 saves in the 9-7, season-opening win for the 11th-ranked Irish over 13th-ranked Loyola; the preseason All-American held the Greyhounds scoreless for the final 23 minutes while his teammates were busy scoring four times to overcome a 7-5 deficit; Kemp led the nation in goals-against average as a freshman in 2005 (.652), earning GWLL rookie-of-the-year honors, and was an honorable mention All-American in 2006.

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Jillian Byers

Jillian Byers (Women’s Lacrosse; So., A; Northport, NY) – Byers matched her career-high for goals in a game (6, including the gamewinner) while helping carry the 5th-ranked Irish women’s lacrosse team to a 10-9, sudden-death overtime win over James Madison (played at the University of Virginia); she scored on 6-of-12 shots, including four of the team’s first five goals as ND turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead; JMU scored twice in the first OT (non-sudden death) for a 9-7 lead but Byers quickly answered in the second OT, via an assist from Meghan Murphy (ND then scored again to make it 9-9); the Irish won the opening draw in sudden-death and Byers ultimately scored the winning goal, after taking a feed from Lena Zentgraf.

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Noah Babin

Noah Babin (Hockey; Sr., D; Palm Beach Gardens, FL) – Babin was named the CCHA defenseman of the week, registering a pair of assists while spearheading an Irish defense that held Alaska to a pair of goals (1-0, 3-2) – as Notre Dame clinched the league regular-season title in the first game of the series in Fairbaks (he also helped shut down the Nanooks on all 13 of their power-play chances); he combined with his teammates to stop seven Alaska power-play chances while posting team’s fourth shutout of the season in the first game; he returned the next night to set up second-period power-play goals by Erik Condra (1-0) and Garrett Regan (2-1), as the Irish posted their first-ever sweep of the Nanooks in Fairbanks; Babin is the team’s top-scoring defenseman with a career-high 20 points (2G-18A), as a member of the nation’s top-ranked defensive unit (1.71 goals allowed per game) and top-ranked penalty-kill group (90.6%).

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Catrina Thompson

Catrina Thompson (Women’s Tennis; Sr.; Las Vegas, NV) – Thompson led the 2nd-ranked Irish to three wins over top-25 teams while going a combined 5-1 in singles and doubles action during the week (playing at the #1 position in both); entered the week ranked 41st nationally in singles and 11th in doubles, alongside her twin sister Christian; beat #81 Jenny Kuehn (6-3, 6-1) and the doubles team of Kara Delicata and Chisako Sugiyama (8-4) in 6-1 win over #23 Michigan; later helped knock off 7th-ranked North Carolina (5-2), thanks to her singles win over #33 Austin Smith, 6-1, 7-5 (the Thompsons lost to the nation’s #29 doubles team, Caitlin Collins and Sanasz Marand, by a 4-8 score); posted her fifth straight singles win – 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 over #29 Alex Hirsch – as Irish shut out #20 Wake Forest, 7-0; also beat WFU’s Alex Hirsch and Sierra Poske in 8-4 doubles match; ended week with a 13-5 season record in singles (86-45 for her career), including 10-4 in ’06-’07 vs. ranked opponents, while extending her doubles record with Christian to 14-5 (83-36 in their career).

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John Lytle

John Lytle (Men’s Swimmning; Fr., Freestyle; Clearfield, PA) – Lytle made a big splash at the BIG EAST Championships, leading the Irish with five all-conference honors and setting five ND records (two individual, three relay) to complete his impressive debut season; combined with Ted Brown, Andrew Hoffman and Jeff Wood to finish 2nd in the BIG EAST 800-yard freestyle relay, in a school-record and NCAA “B” consideration time of 6:32.47; his leadoff leg time if 1:38.35 set the ND 200 free record, narrowly edging Ray Fitzpatrick’s mark of 1:38.36 set in 2000; returned the next day to swim on the 200 free relay team that placed 2nd, in a season-best time of 1:21.35 (Tim Kegelman, Louis Cavadini and Hoffman also swam on that relay); bested his own record by swimming the 200 free in a time of 1:38.06 (2nd); anchored the 400 medley relay team that placed 3rd in another school-record and NCAA consideration time of 3:16.90 (relay included Wood, Sam Pendergast and Cavadini), followed by another 3rd-place and school-record time in the 400 free relay (2:59.59, with Cavadini, Brown and Tim Kegelman); also set school record in the 100 free prelim’s (44;76; ended up 4th with time of 44.97 in the finals) and placed 12th in the 500 free with a season-best time of 20.75.

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Heather Johnson

Heather Johnson (Softball; Fr., 3B; Los Alamitos, CA) – Johnson was named to the BIG EAST weekly softball honor roll, after an all-tournament performance at the Auburn Invitational; she led the six-team field in batting average (.500), hits (8) and on-base percentage (.500) while posting three multiple-hit games; Johnson’s 3-for-4, 3-RBI game vs. Tennessee Tech included the game-ending home run (6-5); her other stats for the week included 4 RBI, 2 runs scored, a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

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Garet Koxlien

Garet Koxlien (Men’s Track and Field; Sr., Throws; Galesville, WI) – Koxlien etched his name in the Notre Dame record books by placing third in the weight throw at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, with his throw of 61-7 setting the new ND standard; the previous record of 61-3 was seven years old, set by Matt Thompson at the 2000 Alex Wilson Invitational; it marked the first indoor all-BIG EAST honor in Koxlien’s career, to go along with two in outdoor throw events.

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Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn (Women’s Swmming; Sr., Breaststroke; Evanston, IL) – Quinn won the 100- (1:02.55) and 200-yard (2:14.41) breaststroke events at the BIG EAST Championships, with both time ranking as NCAA “B” consideration standards; she also swam on the 200 medley relay team that posted placed 3rd at the BIG EAST meet with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:42.91 (others on that relay included Caroline Johnson, Jessica Stephens and Christa Riggins); collected her fourth all-BIG EAST honor at the 2007 meet as a member of the 3rd-place 400 medley relay team (3:43.20; NCAA “B” time; with Johnson, Ann Barton and Katie Carroll); will swim at the 2007 NCAAs in the 100 breastroke and the 200 IM (an event in which she placed 6th at the BIG EAST meet, in 2:03.65).

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Ted Brown

Ted Brown (Men’s Swimming; Sr., Freestyle; Kokomo, IN) – The standout freestyle swimmer closed his career with four all-BIG EAST performances, giving him 10 in his career to rank second all-time in the ND program’s history behind classmate Tim Kegelman’s 12; combined with John Lytle, Andrew Hoffman and Jeff Wood on 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed 2nd at the BIG EAST meet in a school-record time of 6:32.67 (meeting the NCAA “B”/consideration standard); came back on day-2 to place 2nd in the 500 free with a season-best, NCAA “B” time of 4:26.13; added another all-BIG EAST honor by placing 3rd in the 200 free, with a career-best time of 1:38.26; added 3rd-place finish with Lytle, Louis Cavadini and Kegelman in 400 free relay (ND record time of 2:59.59); also placed 6th in the 200 butterfly (1:50.15).

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Anna Weber

Anna Weber (Women’s Track and Field; So., Throws; Indianapolis, IN) – Weber set her own Notre Dame record at the BIG EAST indoor meet, after turning in a weight throw that measured 56-11.25; the previous record (56-0.5) also had been set at the 2000 Alex Wilson Invitational, by Dore Debartolo.

Feb. 13, 2007

Keven Deeth And Valerie Providenza Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Three others – Charel Allen, Cosmina Ciobanu and Noah Babin – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Feb. 5-11.

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Freshman center Kevin Deeth had a pair of goals in the 4-2 win over Nebraska Omaha, including the gamewinner with just 10 seconds left to play (photo by Mike Bennett).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-25 honorees (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) including the dynamic tennis doubles pair of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft, plus distance runner Jake Watson:

KEVIN DEETH
Hockey
Freshman
Center
Gig Harbor, Washington

Deeth continued his strong debut season with the top-ranked Irish by scoring twice in the 4-2 win over Nebraska Omaha (including the gamewinner with just 10 seconds left to play), before adding an assist in the 2-2 tie with the Maverick (he finished the weekend at +3 in plus-minus ratio) … scored off a rebounded Eric Condra shot early in the 3rd period, for 1-0 lead in the first game with UNO; later took a pass from Ryan Thang and walked out from behind the net before tucking a shot around UNO goaltender Jeremie Dupont for the 3-2 lead (an empty-netter produced the final margin) … the pair of scores extended his season goal total to 15 (second-most on the team) … one night later, his rebounded shot set up Eric Condra’s goal for a 2-0 lead in the 3rd period (UNO then rallied for the tie).

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Valerie Providenza’s 12-0 showing at the Duke Duals gave her the most career regular-season wins (175) ever by a Notre Dame women’s sabre fencer (photo by Matt Cashore).

VALERIE PROVIDENZA
Women’s Fencing
Senior
Sabre
Beaverton, Oregon

Providenza went 12-0 at the Duke Duals, raising her career regular-season record to 175-29 (.858) and in the process becoming Notre Dame’s all-time leader in career women’s sabre wins (besting the 166 posted by her former teammate Destanie Milo) … she helped the Irish women posts wins over Air Force, Duke, North Carolina and Johns Hopkins – with her more noteworthy bouts including a 5-0 win over Duke’s Allison Shafer (an NCAA Tournament veteran) … Providenza will be looking to register a rare fourth career All-America finish at the NCAAs in 2007, after winning the NCAA sabre title as a freshman in 2004, placing 4th in 2005 and taking 9th in ’06.

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Cosmina Ciobanu

HONORABLE MENTION

Cosmina Ciobanu (Women’s Tennis; Fr.; Bream CA) – Ciobanu continued her impressive rookie season by winning in singles and doubles, as the 3rd-ranked Irish registered a 6-1 win over 71st-ranked Louisville; teamed with classmate Kali Krisik to win a tough doubles match with Bianca Gorbea and Jo-Ann Van Aerde (8-6) before holding Van Aerde without a game won in #3 singles (6-0, 6-0); improved her season doubles record with Krisik to 11-3 (5-2 in dual-meet action) while remaining unbeaten in singles dual matches (7-0; 17-4 overall) – with all of her singles wins coming in straight sets.

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Charel Allen

Charel Allen (Women’s Basketball; Jr., F; Monessen, PA) – Allen was named BIG EAST player of the week for the second time this season, after averaging 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting .515 from the floor in wins over 16th-ranked Louisville (64-55) and DePaul (78-70); she led the Irish with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the win over UL, also shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line while adding a pair of steals; four days later, Allen posted her third career double-double (game-high 25 points, career-best 13 rebounds) versus DePaul, after shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line (plus 4 more assists).

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Noah Babin

Noah Babin (Hockey; Sr., D; Palm Beach Gardens, FL) – Babin played a lead role for the Irish defense in a hard-fought weekend with Nebraska-Omaha (4-2; 2-2), totaling a goal and a pair of assists in the series while helping limit UNO to 38 total shots and 1-of-7 on the power play; kept the puck in the zone, leading to Kevin Deeth’s 3rd-period goal that opened the scoring in first game with UNO, later picking up assist on Justin White’s low show from the top of the right circle (2-2); scored his second goal of the season for early 1-0 lead the next day, taking a redirection from Jason Paige and sending home a wrist shot from the right side.

Feb. 6, 2007

Brook Buck, Kelcey Tefft and Jake Watson Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Six others – Tory Jackson, Balasz Molnar, Amy Kohlmeier, Stephen Bass, Patrick Smyth and Thomas Chamney – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4.

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Sophomore Kelcy Tefft (left) and junior Brook Buck (right) continued their strong season by going 4-0 in doubles action and 4-1 in singles while leading the Irish women’s ternnis team to a runner-up finish at the ITA National Team Indoors.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-24 honorees (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) including the dynamic tennis doubles pair of Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft, plus distance runner Jake Watson:

BROOK BUCK and KELCY TEFFT
Women’s Tennis
Junior and Sophomore
Yukon and Enid, Oklahoma

Buck and Tefft continued their impressive season by going 4-0 at #2 doubles during the 2007 National Team Indoor Championships, with the pair also combining for a 4-0 mark in singles before the final round … the Oklahoma natives – listed 5th in the ITA national doubles rankings – opened action at Nielsen Stadium (in Madison, Wis.) with an 8-3 win over Clemson’s Ani Mijacika and Federica Van Adrichem, with Tefft adding a win at #4 singles (4-6, 6-1, 6-4 over Ini Hadziselimovic) as the 4th-ranked Irish topped the #18 Tigers, 5-2 … ND won by the same score in the quarterfinals vs. #10 Baylor, with Buck and Tefft winning 8-2 over Jessica Zook and Zuzana Chmelarova (Tefft also beat Klara Zrustova, 6-1, 6-4) … the Irish then edged #8 Northwestern in the semifinals (4-3), with Buck and Tefft clinching the doubles point (in a 9-7 battle with Samantha Murray and Lauren Lui) while Tefft’s 6-4, 6-3 win over Liu gave the Irish a 3-1 cushion and Buck – playing her first dual singles match of 2007 – supplied the clinching win, 7-6, 7-6 over Nazlie Ghazal at #6 singles … 6th-ranked Georgia Tech then held off ND in the final (4-2), despite another win by Buck and Tefft (8-6 over Tarryn Rudman and Alison Silverio) … Buck lost a three-set singles match vs. GT (6-2, 5-7, 2-6, vs. 64th-ranked Amanda Craddock) while Tefft was trailing in a match that was abandoned (7-5, 2-6, 1-5 vs. #82 Silverio) … Buck and Tefft ended the National Team Indoors having pushed their 2006-07 doubles record to 14-3 (6-0 in dual action), with Tefft also owning a 9-4 singles record (4-1 in dual matches).

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Junior Jake Watson won the prestigious Meyo Mile race in a time of 4:00.71 – the 5th-fastest in Notre Dame track history.

JAKE WATSON
Men’s Track and Field
Junior
Distance
Stillwater, Minnesota

Watson won Notre Dame’s prestigious Meyo Mile race in a career-best time of 4:00.71 … his winning time represented the third-best mile time in the nation and ranked 5th-best in the Notre Dame record book … Watson led a group of six runners who all posted NCAA provisional qualifying times during the 2007 Meyo Mile … his older brother, Luke Watson, won the 2003 Meyo Mile in a ND record-setting time of 3:57.83 (he became the second ND runner, and first since 1981, to register a sub-4:00 mile).

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Tory Jackson

HONORABLE MENTION

Tory Jackson (Men’s Basketball; Fr., G; Saginaw, MI) – The rookie point guard continued to make strides in his new starting role, averaging 12.5 points, 9.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in 75 minutes of action during road games at Syracuse (a 103-91 win) and South Florida (a 69-63 loss); ran the show for ND team that posted most points ever scored by a visiting team at the SU Carrier Dome (103; first opponent to reach 100 at the CD in 10 years); poured in a season-high 19 points vs. the Orange (4-of-8 field goals; 11-of-14 free throws), plus 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and only 3 turnovers; closed the week with a season-high 11 assists while playing 39-plus minutes in the tough loss at USF (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 TO, 2-9 FG, 2-6 FT).

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Balasz Molnar

Balasz Molnar (Men’s Track; Fr., Sprints; Dunaujvaros, Hungary) – The newcomer had a memorable debut at the Meyo Invitational, finishing just .01 behind winner Shaquan Brown of Louisville in the 500-meter dash; his time of 1:02.61 ranks 2nd in the ND record book (behind the 1:01.92 by Steve Dziabis, way back in 1983).

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Amy Kohlmeier

Amy Kohlmeier (Women’s Track; Sr., Distance; Sarnia, Ontario) – Kohlmeier became the first member of the ND women’s track-and-field team to provisionally qualify for the NCAAs, after finishing as the runner-up in the Meyo Invitational 5,000-meter race with a career-best time of 16:36.34; that time also ranked 7th-best in the nation for 2007 and 9th-fastest in the ND record book; she earlier had qualified for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships in the mile (career-best 4:54.02) and the 3,000 meters (9:51.13).

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Stephen Bass

Stephen Bass (Men’s Tennis; Sr.; Bronxville, IL) – Bass went 7-1 overall (in singles and doubles) during the week, as the Irish faced a tough stretch of opponents that included three nationally-ranked teams; the nation’s 14th-ranked singles player, Bass helped the #13 Irish shut out #58 Indiana (7-0), with his 6-3, 7-6 win over #8 David Bubenicek at #1 singles while also combining with classmate Barry King to win at #3 doubles (804, over Michael McCarthy and Arnaud Roussel); added key win over Florida State’s #1 singles player Ytai Abougzir (6-2, 6-4), helping knock off the #13 Seminoles (Bass and King dropped a tight doubles match to Maciek Sykut and Andrew Bailey, 8-9); he closed the week in doubleheader action, with his wins at #1 singles (7-6, 7-2 over Peter Rodriguez) and #3 doubles (9-7 over Ned Samuelson and Kiril Dimitrov, with King) helping defeat #8 Duke, 6-1 (he also posted a pair of wins in the 7-0 victory over Toledo: 6-3, 6-0 over Jared Miller at #2 singles and 8-2 vs. Kevin Moran and Chris Clark at #3 doubles, with Santiago Montoya).

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Patrick Smyth.

Patrick Smyth (Men’s Track; So., Distance; Salt Lake City, UT) – Joined the expansive group of impressive Notre Dame performers at the Meyo Invitational by lowering his NCAA provisional time in the 5,000 meters; that career-best time of 13:58.10 ranked 3rd-quickest in the nation for 2007 and 5th-best in ND history.

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Thomas Chamney

Thomas Chamney (Men’s Track; Sr., Middle Distance; Tipperary, Ireland) – Chamney registered the fastest 800-meter time in an NCAA meet (up to that point), after clocking a 1:47.82 at the Meyo Invitational; that career-best time was just .02 shy of automatic NCAA qualification while ranking 2nd-best in the ND record book (behind Jeff Hojnacki’s 1:47.50 in 1997).

Jan. 30, 2007

Katie Carroll and Michael Bulfin Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Seven others -Kelley Hurley, Thomas Chamney, Okechi Ogbuokiri, Colin Falls, Julia Quinn, David Brown and Patrick Ghattas – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the busy week of Jan. 22-28.

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Senior Katie Carroll smashed her own Rolfs Aquatics record in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Shamrock Invitational, finishing in a time of 16:27.48 while also winning the 200 individual medley (2:02.40).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-23 honorees (Jan. 22-28) including elite swimmer Katie Carroll and diver Michael Bulfin:

KATIE CARROLL
Women’s Swimming
Senior
Individual Medley/Freestyle/Butterfly
Toledo, Ohio

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Sophomore Michael Bulfin won both diving events at the Shamrock Invitational, setting a school record in the 1-meter event (338.49) while his 3-meter score (378.30) was just 5.55 shy of that record.

Carroll saved her best for last, shattering her own pool record in the 1,650-yard freestyle while helping the Irish women go 3-1 at the Shamrock Invitational (lone loss was to #15 Penn State) – in her final career event at the Rolfs Aquatics Center … the career-best time of 16:27.48 bested her previous pool record by more than 10 seconds and ranked 3rd-best overall in the ND record book … Carroll posted another of her 15 wins of the season during the two-day Shamrock Invitational, touching the wall at 2:02.40 in the 200 individual medley, and later was the runner-up in the 400 IM (4:18.71) … her busy weekend included swimming on Irish teams that were runner-up in the 400 medley relay (3:47.27) and the 200 free relay (1:34.48).

MICHAEL BULFIN
Men’s Diving
Sophomore
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Bulfin continued his strong season by winning the 1-meter diving at the Shamrock Invitational with a school-record score of 339.40; returned the next day to win the 3-meter competition, with his score of 378.30 ending up just 5.55 shy of that school record.

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Kelley Hurley

HONORABLE MENTION

Kelley Hurley (Women’s Fencing; Fr., Epee; San Antonio, TX) – The freshman sensation dominated a strong field at the annual NYU Duals, with her 17-1 record including a sweep of Northwestern to help the Irish women edge their Midwestern rivals, 14-3 (her bouts were 5-3 vs. Christa French, 5-4 vs. Kayley French and 5-2 vs. Courtney DuBois); her other noteworthy wins – each over NCAA Tournament veterans – included a 5-1 bout with Columbia’s Rachel Rowe, a 5-4 battle with St. John’s All-American Joanna Guy and a 5-2 victory over NYU’s Lauren Willock.

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Thomas Chamney

Thomas Chamney (Men’s Track; Sr., Middle Distance; Tipperary, Ireland) – Chamney turned in an NCAA qualifying time during the mile race at the Notre Dame Invitational, posting a career-best 4:02.63 that ranks 9th-best in the Notre Dame record book.

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Okechi Ogbuokiri

Okechi Ogbuokiri (Women’s Track; Sr., Sprints; Willingboro, NJ) – Ogbuokiri turned in a season-best time of 55.67 while winning the 400-meter race at the Notre Dame Invitational (in BIG EAST qualifying time).

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Colin Falls

Colin Falls (Men’s Basketball; Sr., Guard; Park Ridge, IL) – Falls collected the first BIG EAST weekly honor of his career, after being named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll in recognition of his strong play during games vs. St. John’s (71-68 road loss) and Villanova (66-63 home win); he averaged 19.5 points and 4.0 rebounds during the week, with 16 points in the loss to SJU (5-of-12 shooting, 1-of-2 on 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist) before totaling 23 points in the win over the Wildcats (6-11 FG, 3-7 on 3s, 8-9 free throws, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal).

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Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn (Women’s Swimming; Sr., Breaststroke; Evanston, Illinois) – Quinn ended her home-meet career by setting a Rolfs Aquatics Center record in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.26), at the Shamrock Invitational; she also was runner-up in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.08) and swam along with Katie Carroll, Ann Barton and Caroline Johnson on the runner-up team in the 400 medley relay (3:47.27).

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David Brown

David Brown (Hockey; Sr., Goaltender; Stoney Creek, ONT) – Brown collected CCHA goaltender-of-the-week honors for the third time in the 2006-07 season, after stopping 50-of-53 shots (.943) in the showdown series with Miami; he made 26 saves in the 4-1 opener, allowing only a power-play goal after the Irish already had claimed a commanding 4-0 lead; Brown returned the next night to save 24-of-26 shots, keeping his team within range as the Irish went on to score twice in the final seven minutes to salvage a 2-2 tie; he entered February leading the nation in wins (20-4-2) while ranking 2nd in the nation with a 1.72 goals-against average and 8th in save pct. (.928; 2nd-best in the CCHA).

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Patrick Ghattas

Patrick Ghattas (Men’s Fencing; Sr., Sabre; Beaverton, OR) – Ghattas has an impressive 17-1 record while battling some of the nation’s top sabre fencers at the annual NYU Duals; his top wins included a sweep of rival Ohio State (5-3 vs. Sergey Smirnov; 5-1 vs. Jason Paul; 5-4 vs. Mike Momstelidze) and matching 5-4 bouts with Columbia’s Alex Krul and James Williams.

Jan. 23, 2007

Bill Thanhouser and Charrel Allen Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Two others – Ryan Postel and Adi Nott – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Jan. 15-21.

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Bill Thanhouser’s 25-2 record in the Notre Dame Duals sabre bouts included going 2-1 in the showdown with Ohio State.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-22 honorees (Jan. 15-21) including sabre fencer Bill Thanhouser and basketball wing player Charel Allen:

BILL THANHOUSER
Men’s Fencing
Sophomore
Sabre
Portland, Oregon

Thanhouser scorched the field at the Notre Dame Duals, racking up a 25-2 record that included a pair of wins over rival Ohio State: 5-3 vs. Sergey Smirnov and 5-4 vs. All-Ameican Jason Paul (after rallying from a 2-4 deficit); also notched a 5-3 win over Stanford’s Teddy Levitt (his former teammate on the U.S. Junior National Team) and added wins over a pair of NCAA Tournament veterans (5-1 vs. UC San Diego’s Jason Runyan; 5-3 vs. Detroit’s Jarislaw Jelinek).

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Charel Allen took home BIG EAST player-of-the-week honors after averaging 28 points in wins over St. John’s (career-high 31) and Syracuse (second career double-double; 25 points, 10 rebounds).

CHAREL ALLEN
Women’s Basketball
Junior
Guard
Monessen, Pennsylvania

Allen was named BIG EAST player of the week for the first time in her career, after a strong showing in home wins over St. John’s (83-65) and Syracuse (83-55) that included averaging 28.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game (her .641 field-goal shooting for the week, 25-of-39, included 4-of-7 from 3-point range) … she opened the week with a career-high 31 points on 14-of-19 shooting vs. SJU, representing the 2nd-most field goals ever made by an ND women’s basketball player in a Joyce Center game (her other stats in the game include 6 rebounds and an assist) … four days later, Allen registered her second career double-double (game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, tying a career high) vs. Syracuse (11-20 FG, 2-3 FT, 2 assists, 3 steals and block)… she became the first Irish player since the 2001-02 season to post 25-plus points in consecutive games … Allen ended the weekend ranked 9th among the BIG EAST’s leading scorers (15.9 ppg), also ranking among the league leaders in steals (6th; 2.3/gm) while averaging 6.1 rebounds per game and reaching double-digit scoring totals in 16 of 18 games.

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Ryan Postel

HONORABLE MENTION

Ryan Postel (Men’s Track and Field; Sr., Sprints; Lexington, KY) – The veteran sprinter won the 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Notre Dame Indoor Opener; his 200 time (21.77) qualified for the BIG EAST indoor meet while his 47.56 in the 400 ranks 5th-best in ND track history.

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Adi Nott

Adi Nott (Women’s Fencing; So., Foil; Rochester, NY) – Nott continued her impressive career by rolling to a 17-1 record at the Notre Dame Duals; Nott helped the women’s foil team win 88% of its total bouts at the ND Duals (63-9), with her top wins including two wins over Ohio State (5-0 vs. Chloe Streithorst; 5-2 vs. Holly McKibben), plus victories over three fencers with NCAA Tournament experience: Wayne State’s Lindsy Howard (5-0), Cleveland State’s Leigh Pendergrass (5-0) and UC San Diego’s Jen Chun (5-3).

Jan. 16, 2007

Cassie Gullickson and Luke Harangody Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Six others – Patrick Ghattas, Valerie Providenza, Ryan Thang, Tulyah Gaines, Anna Weber and Katie Carroll – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Jan. 8-14.

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Senior Cassie Gullickson won the high jump (5-4.25) and triple jump (37-7.25) events at the Purdue Inviational and earlier had posted qualifying marks in both events for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-21 honorees (Jan. 8-14) including track-and-field jump specialist Cassie Gullickson and basketball forward Luke Harangody:

CASSIE GULLICKSON
Track and Field
Senior
Jumps
Palm Beach Garderns, Florida

Gullickson won the high jump (5-4.25) and the triple jump (37-7.25) at the Purdue Invitational … the jump specialist earlier had qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in both events, after winning the high jump and triple jump competitions at the Blue and Gold Invitational in early December … Gullickson’s top BIG EAST finish as a junior was 7th in the triple jump (she also qualified for the 2006 NCAA Mideast Regional in the outdoor high jump).

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Luke Harangody continued his strong freshman season by averaing 11.5 and 5.0 rebounds per game in wins over #21 West Virginia and Seton Hall.

LUKE HARANGODY
Men’s Basketball
Freshman
Forward
Schereville, Indiana

Harangody was named BIG EAST rookie for the third time this season, after averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in home wins over 21st-ranked West Virginia (61-58) and Seton Hall (8-76); he logged a season-high 22 minutes in his first start of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in the win over SHU; later in the week, Harangody had 11 points and 5 more rebounds as the Irish topped WVU for their third win over a ranked opponent this season; Harangody entered mid-January as Notre Dame’s 4th-leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and 2nd-leading rebounder (5.6 rpg) while also shooting 52.1% from the floor; he has scored in double-figures during 13 of 17 games this season.

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Patrick Ghattas

HONORABLE MENTION

Patrick Ghattas (Men’s Fencing; Sr., Sabre; Beaverton, OR) – Ghattas turned in a 3rd-place finish at the North American Cup event in Columbus, Ohio, placing behind only former St. John’s fencer and Olympic veteran Keeth Smart and current Ohio State rival Mike Momtselidze; entered as #10 seed before going 6-0 in his pool bouts to earn a #8 seed into the direct-elimination; ultimately reached the final-8, as the #4 seed, and posted a 15-13 win over SJU’s Luther Clement before losing semifinal bout to Momtselidze (who was edged by Smart in a 13-15 final); the strong field included several noteworthy current and former college fencing standouts, such as Adam Crompton (OSU), Ben Igoe (Rutgers), the Penn State grouping of Ian Farr, Andrew Bielen, Matt Kolasa and Daniel Bak, Nijmy Cadet (SJU), Jason Paul (OSU), Paul Reyfman (Columbia) and Jaroslaw Jelinek (Detroit) – plus ND signee Avery Zuck.

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Valerie Providenza

Valerie Providenza (Women’s Fencing; Sr., Sabre; Beaverton, OR) – Providenza matched her club teammate Patrick Ghattas with a 3rd-place finish at the North American Cup in Columbus, behind Dagmara Wozniak and Emma Baratta; she entered as the #14 seed but dominated her pool bouts (5-0, +25), highlighted by a 5-1 win over fellow former NCAA champion Alexis Jemal (Rutgers); moved up to #5 seed for the DE, followed by wins over Tsvetelina Bakalova (15-4), Jacqueline Leval (15-3) and Ohio State rival Siobhan Byrne (15-14); she entered the final-8 as the #3 seed and edged Eliza Stone (15-14) before losing by the same score to Wozniak (who beat Batatta in a 15-8 final); the elite field also included two national-team members – her ND teammate Mariel Zagunis and Penn State’s Caity Thompson – plus former OSU standout Louise-Bond Williams, PSU’s Sophie Hiss (’04 NCAA runner-up), Stanford’s Eva Jellison and OSU’s Eileen Grench (Eileen Hassett was 10th and fellow ND signee Sarah Borrman 15th).

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Ryan Thang

Ryan Thang (Hockey; Fr., RW; Edina, MN) – Thang was named the CCHA rookie of the week for the second time this season, after helping the Irish claim 1st-place in the conference standings with a sweep at 15th-ranked Lake Superior State (4-3/OT; 4-1); his goals in each game produced the team’s longest goalscoring streak (4 games) of the season; Thang’s wrist shot gave the Irish a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period of the opener; the next night, his rebounded shot led to Erik Condra’s goal for a 2-0 lead on the Lakers and he later scored on another wrist shot for the 3-0 cushion; Thang entered mid-January ranked 4th on the team in scoring (13G-10A) and 3rd on the squad in plus-minus ratio (+15; +2 vs/ LSSU); his 13 goals were tied for the team lead while his 74 shots on goal led the Irish; Thang ranked 4th among the CCHA’s top freshman scorers and was tied for the league lead in gamewinning goals (4; also 5 power-play goals and a shorthanded score).

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Tulyah Gaines

Tulyah Gaines (Women’s Basketball; Jr., G; North Las Vegas, NV) Gaines erupted for a career-high 27 points in the 81-70 home win over Cincinnati, after draining 8-of-14 shots from the floor and converted 11-of-12 from the line; she also helped force 25 Bearcats turnovers, with her game totals including 4 steals, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and just a single turnover; later in the week, Gaines was one of several Irish players who were limited by foul trouble in an 87-78 loss at South Florida (7 points, 2 rebounds, 3-6 FG, 1-1 FT, 20 minutes).

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Anna Weber

Anna Weber (Women’s Track and Field; So., Throws; Indianapolis, IN) – Weber finished s the runner-up in the weight throw at the Purdue Invitational, with her distance of 55-2.75 ranking 2nd in the Notre Dame record book; she added another personal best in the shot put, placing 3rd with a throw if 45-5.75; both distances were BIG EAST qualifiers (she already had posted a BIG EAST throw in the shot put).

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Katie Carroll

Katie Carroll (Women’s Swimming; Sr., IM/Fly/Free; Toledo, OH – Carroll led Notre Dame to a runner-up finish at the Michigan Invitational, behind #13 Indiana but ahead of the #10 host Wolverines; Carroll showed her tremendous versatility by winning three events in the two-day event (giving her 13 wins for the season), in the 500-yard freestyle (career-best 4:48.31), the 200 individual medley (2:01.78) – both NCAA provisional qualifying times – and the 200 butterfly (1:59.04); she also swam alongside Caroline Johnson, Christa Riggins and Rebecca Grove on the 200 free relay team that placed third in a season-best time of 1:34.19, also combining with Riggins, Johnson and Julia Quinn on the runner-up team in the 400 medley relay (3:47.78) while teaming with Megan Farrell, Grove and Riggins for a 3rd-place finish in the 400 free relay.

Jan. 9, 2007

Charel Allen And Kevin Deeth Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Two others – Russell Carter and Erik Condra – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Jan. 1-7.

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Charel Allen’s double-double (16 points, career-best 10 rebounds) helped the Irish women edge Seton Hall, 64-61.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-20 honorees (Jan. 1-7) including basketball player Charel Allen and hockey forward Kevin Deeth:

CHAREL ALLEN
Women’s Basketball
Junior
Guard
Monessen, Pennsylvania

Allen was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll for the second time this season, after registering a double-double (16 points, career-high 10 rebounds) in Notre Dame’s only game of the week, a 64-61 win over Seton Hall. Her basket with 3:09 put the Irish in the lead for good and she added added an insurance basket with 1;55 left to play; Allen made 7-of-16 shots from the floor and converted both of her free throws in the win over the Pirates, adding a block and a pair of steals (plus 3 assists). She currently leads the Irish and ranks 16th in the BIG EAST with 14.4 point per game, also owning a team-best rebound average (6.0/gm) whle ranking 5th among BIG EAST players in stealrs (2.43/gm) and 6th in free-throw pct. (.833).

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Kevin Deeth’s hat trick paced the Irish in the 6-2 road win over Robert Morris.

KEVIN DEETH
Hockey
Freshman
Center
Gig Harbor, Washington

Deeth joined the exclusive club of Notre Dame players who have registered hat tricks during their freshman seasons, finding the net three times in a 6-2 win before adding an assist in the 2-4 loss, as the 2nd-ranked Irish split a home-and-home series with Robert Morris. Deeth – who had a +2 plus-minus ratio in the win over the Colonials and won 20-of-31 faceoffs in the series – redirected a pass from linemate Erik Condra to open the scoring early in the Friday-night game (played at Mellon Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins) and later converted Condra’s lead pass for a breakaway goal and the 3-1 lead, early in the second period. He completed the hat trick midway through the third period, after taking a pass from Condra and flipping home a backhander from the slot for a 5-2 lead and his 11th goal of the season. Two days later in the Joyce Center, Deeth picked up an assist on Ryan Thang’s power-play goal that yielded a 2-0 lead for the Irish midway through the second period. Deeth ranks third on the Irish squad with 34 points (second in assists, with 13) while his +15 plus-minus trails only Condra’s +17 among the Notre Dame players. His 11 goals included five on the power play and four gamewinners (both team bests).

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Russell Carter

HONORABLE MENTION

Russell Carter (Men’s Basketball; Sr., G; Paulsboro, NJ) – Carter remained the top all-around player for the 17th-ranked Irish men’s basketball team, totaling 31 points (12-of-29 FG shooting, 4-of-11 on 3s, 3-of-3 FTs) , 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in BIG EAST battles with Louisville (78-62) and Georgetown (48-66); Carter’s team-best 19 points led the way in the win over the Cardinals, with 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range (plus 2-of-2 FTs, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist); he then totaled a team-best 12 points in the road loss to the Hoyas (5-of-15 FGs, 1-of-6 on 3s, 1-of-1 FTs, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, steal); Carter currently ranks as the third-leading scorer among BIG EAST players, averaging 17.5 points per game while converting 47% of his three-point shots.

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Erik Condra

Erik Condra (Hockey; So., C; Livonia, MI) – Condra’s goal and four assists in the 6-2 win over Robert Morris represented the most points (5) by an Irish player since the 2000-01 season and he added another assist in the loss to the Colonials (2-4), during a home-and-home series; Condra – who was +2 in the win – fed linemate Kevin Deeth for an early lead in the Friday-night game at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena; he scored his eighth goal of the season minutes later, skating onto a clearance from Brett Blatchford and scoring through the pads of the goalie for the shorthanded score and a 2-0 lead; Condra’s lead pass later set up Deeth’s breakaway score (3-1) and the duo combined again, with Deeth scoring on a backhander from the slot for a 5-2 cushion; the fifth point came in the closing minutes, after an assist on Ryan Thang’s power-play shot; two days later, Condra’s deflected shot led to a goal by Thang for a 2-0 lead in the second game of the series; Condra currently leads the Irish in points (30), assists (22) and plus-minus ratio (+17), with two of his goals coming on the power play and two holding up as gamewinners.

Jan. 2, 2007

Mark Van Guilder And Rob Kurz Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Three others – Russell Carter, Ashley Barlow and Luke Harangody – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Dec. 25-31.

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Mark Van Guilder had a goal in both games and a key assist in the opener at Fort Wayne, as the Irish hockey team used a sweep of Northern Michigan to move atop the CCHA standings.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-19 honorees (Dec. 25-31) including hockey forward Mark Van Guilder and basketball big man Rob Kurz:

MARK VAN GUILDER
Hockey
Junior
Center
Roseville, Minnesota

Van Guilder had a pair of goals and a key assist, as the Irish posted another impressive weekend sweepby besting Northwen Michigan in Fort Wayne (4-3) and at the Joyce Center (4-2) to move atop the CCHA standings at 11-2-1 (16-3-1 overall, including 8-0-0 at home). He rammed home a deflected Christian Hanson shot to tie the Friday-night game (1-1) and played a part in the decisive three-goal rally in the period, with the primary assist on Hanson’s power-play wrist shot from the left side (3-2). Two days later in the home game, NMU had scored with 53 seconds left in the final period for a 3-2 score but Van Guilder clinched the win by knocking down a pass and firing into the open net for his team-leading 13th goal of the season and 24th of his career. He had a +1 plus-minus ratio in the pair of close wins and is the only Irish player with double-digit goals and assists (11).

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Rob Kurz’s impressive junior season rolled on in the final week of 2006, as he totaled 38 points and 18 rebounds in the wins over Rider and Stony Brook.

ROB KURZ
Men’s Basketball
Junior
Forward
Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania

Kurz continued to impress with his versatile skills by totaling 38 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals in the wins over Rider (101-51) and Stony Brook (95-66), shooting 8-of-14 from the floor during the week (2-of-3 on 3-pointers) and 20-of-27 from the free-throw line as the Irish pushed their winning streak to games. He started the week with his second-highest point total of the season (23) versus Rider, on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-2 on 3s) and 9-of-13 from the line (also 8 rebounds, 3 steals, a block and an assist). Two days later, Kurz turned in his sixth double–double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds), thanks to a strong effort at the line (11-of-14, also 2-of-6 on FGs, plus 3 assists and 3 blocks). The team co-captain’s season averages include 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, with strong shooting from the field (58%) and the free-throw line (88%).

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Russell Carter

HONORABLE MENTION

Russell Carter (Men’s Basketball; Sr., G; Paulsboro, NJ) – Carter continued to be a regular among the weekly primetime performers, also earning a spot on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor for the second straight week (in addition to an earlier BIG EAST player-of-the-week honor); Carter averaged 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals in the wins over Rider (101-51) and Stony Brook (95-66), shooting 13-of-24 from the floor, 9-of-18 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the line; he turned in an impressive all-around game versus Rider (17 points, 7 rebounds, season-high 5 assists, 5 steals; 5-12 FGs, 2-7 on 3s, 3-3 FTs) and then reached 20 points for the sixth time this seaosn in the win over Stony Brook (23), after knocking down a career-best 7-of-11 shots from behind the arc and also making his only shot from inside the outer circle (plus a pair of rebounds, 3 assists and a couple steals); Carter leads the team in scoring with 17.8 ppg and has connected on 48% of his 3-point shots.

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Ashley Barlow

Ashley Barlow (Women’s Basketball; Fr., G; Indianapolis, IN) – Barlow had a record-setting game off the bench in the win over Prairie View A&M (94-55), making all 13 of her free-throw attempts to set a Notre Dame and Joyce Center women’s basketball record; she finished that game with a season-high 21 points – in 23 minutes of play – and nearly reached a double-double (9 rebounds, also a pair of assists and 3 steals while shooting 4-of-8 from the floor); Barlow logged fewer minutes (15) in the loss at 4th-ranked Tennessee (54-78) but made all three of her shots from the field (7 points, 1-2 FTs, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist).

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Luke Harangody

Luke Harangody (Men’s Basketball; Fr., F; Schereville, IN) – Harangody was named the BIG EAST rookie of the week for the second time this season, with he 6-foot-8 sparkplug averaging 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds off the bench during the wins over Rider (101-51) and Stony Brook (95-66); he shot 12-of-20 from the field in the two games and made all six of his free throws while totaling 10 more combined points and rebounds (45) than his minutes played (35) during the week; his 19 minutes versus Rider produced his fourth double-double of the season (18 points, 10 recounds), after shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and making a pair of free throws (also an assist and block); the in-state product then followed with a 12-point game versus Stony Brook that included 4-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes on the court (5 rebounds, 4-of-4 FTs and a pair of assists); Harangody ranks second on the team in rebounds (5.9/gm) and fourth in scoring (12.4 ppg) despite averaging just 17.8 minutes per game.

Dec. 26, 2006

Melissa D’Amico And Russell Carter Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Three others – Luke Harangody, Ashley Barlow and Rob Kurz – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the weeks of Dec. 11-24.

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Melissa D’Amico’s scoring and rebounding led the way for the Notre Dame women in a pair of close wins prior to the Christmas break.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-17/18 honorees (Dec. 11-24) including basketball players Melissa D’Amico and Russell Carter:

MELISSA D’AMICO
Women’s Basketball
Junior
Center
Manorville, New York

D’Amico helped send the Irish women into the Christmas holiday with an 8-3 record, following a pair of exciting wins over IUPUI (75-65) and at Valparaiso (60-59). She matched her career-high point total (20) in the win over IUPUI, after making 8-of-10 shots from the floor and 4-of-7 from the line (plus 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, a pair of assists and a steal in just 26 minutes of action). Three days later, she nearly had a double-double (12 points, 8 rebounds) despite being limited to 27 minutes during the tight game, due to foul trouble (6-of-12 FG, assist, block). Her totals in the two games included 32 points (14-of-22 FG, 4-of-8 FT) and 13 rebounds in 53 minutes of game time (also 4 blocks, 2 assists and a steal).

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Russell Carter continued to make plays all over the floor, as the 19th-ranked Notre Dame men’s basketball team kept rolling in pre-Christmas wins over Elon, Portland and Army.

RUSSELL CARTER
Men’s Basketball
Senior
Forward
Paulsboro, New Jersey

Carter was honored by the BIG EAST Conference for the second time in the month of December, earning recognition on the league’s weekly honor role after averaging 20.0 points in wins by the 19th-ranked Irish over Portland (86-69) and Army (88-47). His output in the three games leading into the Christmas break (also a 94-53 win over Elon) included 61 points (20.3/gm), 12 rebounds, 9 assists and a a steal in each game while logging 88 minutes on the court (his shooting in the three games included 19-of-38 on all field goals, 12-of-23 from 3-point range and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line). Carter opened the post-finals stretch with 21 points in just 28 minutes of action versus Elon (7-11 FG, 5-7 on 3s, 2-2 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal). He followed with a career-high 28 points versus Portland, as his 8-of-16 shooting helped break open a close game (5-of-10 on 3s, 7-of-8 FT, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal). His final effort prior to the Christmas break included 12 points while playing just 25 minutes in the 41-point win over Army (4-of-11 FG, 2-of-6 on 3s, 2-of-3 FT, 3 assists and a steal). Carter leads the Irish in scoring with a career-best 17.6 points per game, in addition to averaging 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals. Carter’s season-long strong play has helped Notre Dame jump out to a 10-1 record (its best start at this point in the season since 2002-03), with the current nine-game winning streak ranking as the longest by an Irish men’s basketball team in 20 years.

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Luke Harangody

HONORABLE MENTION

Luke Harangody (Men’s Basketball; Fr., F; Schereville, IN) The rookie big man maintained his physical presence in the post for the Irish during the three games prior to Christmas break, totaling 34 points and 24 rebounds in those games despite playing just 55 minutes (9-of-24 shooting from the floor and 16-of-18 from the line, 8 assists and 4 steals); his double-double in the win over Elon (12 points, 10 rebounds) included making 4-of-9 field-goal attempts and of of his free throws (4-of-4, plus an assist and steal in 18 minutes of game time); he repeated his point production (12) versus Portland (2-of-8 FG, 8-of-9 FT), with a pair of rebounds, three assists and a couple steals in 19 minutes of action; Harangody closed the pre-Christmas slate with his third double-double of the season (10 points, 12 rebounds) as the Irish turned in another easy win over Army (3-of-7 FG and 4-of-5 FT, plus four assists and a steal in his customary 18 minutes on the floor).

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Ashley Barlow

Ashley Barlow (Women’s Basketball; Fr., G; Indianapolis, IN) – Barlow continued to provide a big spark off the bench while helping the Notre Dame women post a pair of close wins prior to the Christmas break; Barlow drained 9-of-10 free throws for most of her 11 points in the 75-65 win over IUPUI, coming just shy of double-double (9 rebounds, plus an assist and a steal) in 29 minutes of action; her 12 points and six rebounds then helped edge homestanding Valparaiso (60-59), with Barlow connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the floor while adding four assists, just one turnover and pair of steals (in 27 minutes); her totals in the two games included 23 points (7-of-15 FG, 9–of-10 FT) and 15 rebounds in 56 minutes (also 5 assists, 3 steals and only the single turnover).

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Rob Kurz

Rob Kurz (Men’s Basketball; Jr., F; Lower Gwynedd, PA) – Kurz continued on his rock-steady season prior to the Christmas break by averaging a double-double (15.3 points, 10.0 rebounds) in the comfortable wins over Elon, Portland and Army.; his three-game totals included 46 points, 30 rebounds and an impressive stretch at the free-throw line (20-of-23), also connecting on 12-of-23 shots from the floor (2-of-5 from 3-point range) while averaging better than a 2-to-1 ratio of assists to turnovers (9/4; also 7 blocks and a pair of steals in 84 minutes on the floor); his first game coming off the break for finals included a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds in the win over Elon (3-of-6 FG, 1-of-2 on 3s, 9-of-11 FT, 7 assists, 4 blocks and a steal in 30 minutes of game time); Kurz then tacked on another double-double versus Portland (21 points, 11 rebounds), after making 11-of-12 free throws and converting 5-of-10 of his field-goal attempts (plus an assist and a couple blocks in 33 minutes of action); he logged just 21 minutes versus Army but still came close what would have been his sixth double-double of the season (9 points, 7 rebounds, 4-of-7 FGs, 1-of-1 on 3s, plus an assist, block and steal).

Dec. 12, 2006

Russell Carter And Breona Gray Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Eric Condra, Kelley Hurley, Kyle McAlarney and Garrett Regan – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Dec. 4-10..

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Russel Carter’s career-best 27 points paced the Irish basketball team’s 99=85 win over 4th-ranked Alabama.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-16 honorees (Dec. 4-10) including basketball players Russell Carter and Breona Gray:

RUSSELL CARTER
Men’s Basketball
Senior
Forward
Paulsboro, New Jersey

Carter was named the BIG EAST Conference player of the week, after leading the Irish to a 99-85 win over 4th-ranked Alabama in Notre Dame’s only game during the pre-finals week. Carter’s career-high 27 points in the win over the Crimson Tide included 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range, plus five rebounds and five steals. Alabama had closed the lead to 85-82 with 3:02 left to play before Carter sparked the decisive 14-0 run with a 3-point basket and a jumper over the next minute of play, pushing the lead to 90-82. Carter is averaging a team-best 16.6 points and has reached double-figure scoring in every game this season – including 13 points and five rebounds in the previous game, an 81-74 victory at 23rd-ranked Maryland.

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Breona Gray’s career-high 22 points led the Irish women to a 67-58 upset of 9th-ranked Purdue.

BREONA GRAY
Women’s Basketball
Senior
Guard
Las Vegas, Nevada

Gray was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll in recognition of her lead role during the 67-58 victory over 9th-ranked Purdue. The defensive specialist erupted on the offensive end for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a personal-best four three-point baskets (one of which provided the final lead, with three minutes to play). Gray also shared team-high honors with seven rebounds (one shy of her career best) and three steals (tying that career-high). Gray is averaging 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the season and ranks 13th among BIG EAST players with 2.0 steals per game. She has been in the Notre Dame starting lineup for 64 of 72 games, spanning the past three seasons.

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Erik Condra

HONORABLE MENTION

Erik Condra (Hockey; So., C; Livonia, MI) – Condra was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association offensive player of the week after totaling six points, on one goal and five assists, in 5th-ranked Notre Dame’s home-and-home sweep of 7th-ranked Michigan (7-3, 4-3); Condra had a +2 plus-minus ratio in the series while pushing his season totals to six goals, 16 assists and +12; he scored on the power-play (3-1) and also assisted on goals by Tom Sawatske, Kevin Deeth and Evan Rankin in the Friday-night game at Michigan; Condra then picked up two assists in the Sunday-afternoon comeback, setting up Kyle Lawson’s power-play goal that forged an early 1-1 tie before combining with Deeth to help produce their linemate Ryan Than’s PPG that produced another tie (3-3) midway through the third period; the sweep moved the Irish to 14-3-1 overall and 9-2-1 in the CCHA (two points behind first-place Miami, with two games in hand); the 13 wins match the team’s 2005-06 victory total and are the most wins prior to the finals break in the program’s 39-year modern history.

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Kelley Hurley

Kelley Hurley (Women’s Fencing; Fr., Epee; San Antonio, TX) – Hurley reached the women’s epee championship bout at the USFA North American Cup event in Richmond, Va., before being edge out by former Princeton All-American and her U.S. National teammate Maya Lawrence (12-13); Hurley entered the huge 106-fencer field as the #3 seed and went 6-0 in her pool bouts before receiving a bye in the first direct-elimination round; she followed with a 15-6 win over Talia Alexander and escaped the next bout vs. upstart Martina Urbanowicz (15-14), earning the #2 seed heading into the round-of-32; Hurley then moved past Margo Miller (#12 in the pre-event seeding), 15-12, and defeated Columbia All-American Morgan Midgley in the round-of-16 (15-11); she was seeded 5th going into the final-8 and defeated surprising Tetyana Novakovska (the #80 pre-event seed) in a 15-11 bout before advancing past her sister Courtney Hurley in the semifinal and then losing to the pre-tournament #2 seed Lawrence in the final (12-13); Hurley currently is ranked 59th among all women’s epeeists in the world, despite being just 18 years old, and she sits behind only her 16-year-old sister Courtney in the USFA’s national rankings for all U.S. women’s epeeists (both Hurley sisters are hopefuls for the 2008 Olympic team).

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Kyle McAlarney

Kyle McAlarney (Men’s Basketball; So., G; Staten Island, NY) – McAlarney was named to the BIG EAST, weekly honor roll in recognition of his 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the 99-85 win over 4th-ranked Alabama; days earlier, the Irish point guard had a game-high 18 points to go along with five assists in the 81-74 victory at 23rd-ranked Maryland; his season stats include averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting 43% from 3-point range (15-for-35) while owning better than a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (46/22).

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Garrett Regan

Garrett Regan (Hockey; So., LW; Hastings, MN) – Regan led the Irish hockey team in scoring with three goals during its home-and-home sweep of #7 Michigan (7-3, 4-3); his backhanded flip shot produced a power-play goal late in the first period for a 2-0 lead in the Friday-night road game; two days later, he again lifted a backhander after a deflected Mark Van Guilder shot for a 5-on-3 goal that tied the game (2-2) midway through the second period; his final goal was part of two Irish scores in a 30-second span and held up as the gamewinner, taking a feed from Van Guilder off a loose puck and beating the goaltender for the 4-3 lead and his sixth goal of the season (half of which came in the Michigan series).

Dec. 5, 2006

Katie Carroll And Rob Kurz Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Three others – Mark Van Guilder, Charel Allen and MacKenzie LeBlanc – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3; Lapira and Hanks combine to make Notre Dame first school ever to sweep the men’s and women’s Hermann soccer awards..

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Katie Carroll strong showing in six different events helped the Notre Dame women’s swimming team post a third-place finish at the prestigious U.S. Open Swim competition.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-15 honorees (Nov. 27-Dec. 3) including All-America swimmer Katie Carroll and basketball forward Rob Kurz:

KATIE CARROLL
Women’s Swimming
Senior
Butterfly/Individual Medley
Toledo, Ohio

Carroll had an impressive week at the annual U.S. Open Swim competition that included several nationally-ranked teams and individuals (plus several national teams, including Mexico, Bahamas and Scotland). The 19th-ranked Irish finished third at the prestigious event (behind only 3rd-ranked Auburn and #6 Florida), with Carroll finishing in the top-10 of three different events and 21st or higher in the standings for six different individual races or relays (all of the events were held at Purdue). The All-American placed 12th in the 400-meter freestyle (4:20.71) during the first day of the U.S. Open Swim and returned the next day to swim in three events, combining with Caroline Johnson, Julia Quinn and Christa Riggins on the 4th-place medley relay team (4:20.33) before finishing ninth in the 200-meter freestyle (2:03.75) and 17th in the 100 fly (1:02.67). Her final day included joining Rebecca Grove, Riggins and Caroline Johnson as members the 7th-place 400-meter freestyle relay team (3:56.64) and then wrapping up with a 21st-place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:17.73).

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Rob Kurz leads the Notre Dame basketball team in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.0.gm), including 16 points and five rebounds in the win at 24th-ranked Maryland.

ROB KURZ
Men’s Basketball
Junior
Forward
Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania

Kurz was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll, after averaging 19.6 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the field in home wins over Lehigh (93-87) and Winston-Salem State (90-45) and an 81-74 victory at 23rd-ranked Maryland. Kurz had a career-best 25 points and eight rebounds versus Lehigh and followed with a perfect shooting performance versus Winston-Salem (5-for-5 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line), as part of his second double-double of the season (18 points, 10 rebounds). Kurz then scored in double figures for the fifth straight game (16; plus five rebounds) to help post the upset win over Maryland, leaving him atop the team scoring (15.4 points per game) and rebounding charts (8.0/gm). His season totals at the seven-game mark also include shooting 66.0 percent from the field (35-for-53), 54.5% from three-point range (6-for-11) and 94.1% from the free-throw line (32-for-34).

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Mark Van Guilder

HONORABLE MENTION

Mark Van Guilder (Hockey; Jr., C; Roseville, MN) – Van Guilder had three goals in the weekend series as the streaking Irish hockey team swept 14th-ranked Alaska in action at the Joyce Center (3-1; 6-2); his shot from the slot capped the scoring in the first game with the Nanooks, completing a three-goal spurt for the Irish in a span of just two minutes; Van Guilder opened the scoring in the second game (on a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle) and later scored one of Notre Dame’s five goals in the second period, taking a drop pass from Noah Babin and sending home a shot from the right circle for a 5-1 lead.

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Charel Allen

Charel Allen (Women’s Basketball; Jr., G; Monessen, PA) – Allen was named to the BIG EAST Conference’s weekly honor roll, after averaging 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game during a busy week that saw the Irish beat Richmond (87-66) and Michigan (61-58) before suffering a close loss to Indiana (51-54); she poured in a career-best 22 points in the win over Richmond and followed with a game-high 15 points in the Irish comeback win at Michigan; Allen hit a key three-pointer with 10.9 seconds left (cutting the deficit to one) and later converted both ends of a one-and-one in the final second to seal the win.; she capped off her week by scoring a team-high 17 points and tying her career-high rebound total (9) in the narrow loss to the Hoosiers.; the big week left Allen atop the team scoring charts (15.9 ppg; 11th in the BIG EAST), also ranking ninth among the conference’s players in steals (2.3/gm) and free-throw percentage (.818).

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MacKenzie LeBlanc

MacKenzie LeBlanc (Men’s Swimming; Fr., Fly/IM/Free; Plano, TX) – The newcomer helped 16th-ranked Notre Dame turn in an impressive 3rd-place finish at the Ohio State Invitational, with the Irish placing behind only 7th-ranked Minnesota and #13 Ohio State; LeBlanc had the top result for Notre Dame on the third and final day of the invitational, winning the 200-yard butterfly in a pool-record time of 1:48.36.

NOTRE DAME DUO COMPLETES UNPRECEDENTED SWEEP OF SOCCER’S HERMANN TROPHY AWARDS … Kerri Hanks (Women’s Soccer; So., F; Allen, TX) and Joe Lapira (Men’s Soccer; Jr., F; Lake Charles, LA) – Hanks and Lapira became the first soccer players from the same school to win the men’s and women’s Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy awards during the same season, as announced on Dec. 2. The award is the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) player-of-the-year award for Division I competition, with the honorees determined via voting by NSCAA Division I member coaches. Hanks became the youngest player (by class) ever to receive a Hermann Trophy (including all previous recipients of the men’s award) and joined former midfielders Cindy Daws (’96) and Anne Makinen (’00) as the third Notre Dame women’s soccer to receive the Hermann Trophy. Lapira is the first Notre Dame men’s soccer player to be honored with the prestigious Hermann glass soccer-ball trophy. North Carolina is the only women’s soccer team with more recipients than Notre Dame (3) in the 19-year history of the women’s Hermann Trophy.

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Kerri Hanks – who joined Mia Hamm as the only Division I women’s soccer players ever to lead the nation in goals and assists – became the first sophomore (male or female) ever to win the Hermann Trophy.

Hanks and Lapira are part of a select all-time group of 47 Notre Dame student-athletes who have been honored as the nation’s best in their respective sports (a total of 55 times), by earning a major national player-of-the-year award or winning an NCAA individual champion. That special group includes seven football Heisman Trophy winners, two star basketball players (Austin Carr and Ruth Riley) and NCAA champions in men’s track and field (18), men’s fencing (12), women’s fencing (10) and men’s cross country (2), plus the four Hermann Trophy winners. Hanks and Lapira’s sweep of the Hermann Trophy marks just the third time that Notre Dame student-athletes from different teams have been a national player of the year/NCAA individual champion in the same academic year. The 1943-44 school year saw football quarterback Angelo Bertelli win the Heisman Trophy while two members of the track-and-field team (two-miler Frank Martin and pole-vaulter Phil Andeson) were NCAA champions. Nearly 60 years later, the first year of the current decade (2000-01) saw Makinen win the Hermann Trophy, Riley take home various women’s basketball national player-of-the-year honors, and Ryan Shay win the NCAA outdoor 10,000 meters. (Note that Sullivan Award winner Greg Rice won NCAA cross country and two-mile titles in the same academic year, 1938-39, while there have been six other years in which one Notre Dame team has produced multiple NCAA individual champions: track and field in 1921 and ’26; men’s fencing in ’77 and ’78; and women’s fencing in ’02 and ’04).

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Joe Lapira capped his record-setting season by becoming the first Notre Dame men’s soccer player ever to receive the prestigious Hermann Trophy.

HANKS (22 goals, 22 assists) joined former UNC great Mia Hamm as the only D-I women’s soccer players ever to lead the nation in goals and assists for the same season, also becoming just the 11th D-I player ever to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in a season (and the sixth to reach 22G-22A). With 137 career points (50G-37A), Hanks totaled more points over the course of her freshman and sophomore seasons than all but two other players in the 25-year history of Division I women’s soccer (Hanks owns the highest freshman/sophomore point total since the late 1980s). She ended the 2006 season with a 13-game scoring streak – tying the ND single-season record – and will enter her junior season already owning or sharing an assortment of 44 different Notre Dame women’s soccer scoring records. The Irish are 32-0-0 over the past two seasons when Hanks scores a goal and she already shares the Notre Dame record for career goals in the postseason (15). Her 2006 single-game highlights included setting ND records for quickest goal in a season opener (1:19, vs. Iowa State); and quickest goal in a postseason game (0:57, vs. Rutgers), also becoming the only Irish player ever to post a hat trick (vs. Oakland) and a 3-assist game (vs. Penn State) during NCAA Tournament play. She has registered points in 15 of 16 career postseason games with the Irish and tied the ND record for points in an NCAA game (3G-1A vs. Oakland), the first time an Irish player ever has scored or assisted on the team’s first four goals in an NCAA Tournament game.

LAPIRA led all Division I men’s soccer players in points (50) and goals (22) during the 2006 season. The BIG EAST offensive player of the year had seven multiple-goal games (including five straight) and scored goals in seven consecutive games at one point during the ’06 season. His 11 game-winning goals included an overtime score that knocked off 8th-ranked Indiana, capping his impressive four-goal game versus the perennial national power. Lapira also scored both of the team’s gamewinners during the NCAA Tournament (both 1-0) – versus Illinois-Chicago in the second round and at 5th-ranked Maryland (the defending NCAA champs) in the round-of-16. His double-overtime goal verus the Terrapins sent the Irish on to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in the program’s history. Lapira tore his left lateral meniscus in the first game of the season but opted to postpone knee surgery until the offseason. His 22 goals tied for second in Notre Dame men’s soccer history, trailing only the 29-goal season in 1978 by Kevin Lovejoy (who also scored 22 goals in ’79). Lapira’s 50 points rank third on the Irish single-season list, behind Lovejoys 1978 (63) and 1979 (55) totals.

Nov. 28, 2006

Jason Paige And Michele Weissenhofer Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Josh Sandman, Katie Carroll, Patrick Smyth and Kerri Hanks – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Nov. 20-26.

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Jason Paige’s pair of goals opened the scoring in the big showdown at the Joyce Center, as 5th-ranked Notre Dame registered a 4-1 win over #4 Michigan State.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-14 honorees (Nov. 20-26) including hockey center Jason Paige and soccer forward Michele Weissenhofer:

JASON PAIGE
Hockey
Senior
Center
Saginaw, Michigan

The Notre Dame alternate captain scored twice in a rare top-five matchup at the Joyce Center, as 5th-ranked Notre Dame defeated #4 Michigan State, 4-1. Paige’s goals opened the scoring and were part of a three-goal Irish blitz over a span of 3:19 in the second period. The first goal saw Paige drive hard to the net before jamming home Noah Babin’s rebounded shot. He scored his fifth goal of the season (and 23rd of his career) minutes later, one-timing a loose puck after Wes O’Neill’s power-play shot had been redirected off the skate of Josh Skiba. The win ran Notre Dame’s unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) and improved the Irish to 9-1-1 overall.

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Michele Weissenhofer became the third Notre Dame women’s soccer player (and first in 10 years) ever to post a hat trick in the NCAA Tournament, leading the way for the top-ranked Irish in the 4-0 NCAA quartefinal win over #8 Penn State.

MICHELE WEISSENHOFER
Women’s Soccer
Freshman
Forward
Naperville, Illinois

Weissenhofer became the third Notre Dame women’s soccer freshman (first in 10 years) ever to post a hat trick during NCAA Tournament play, as the top-ranked Irish advanced to the NCAA semifinals with a 4-0 victory over 8th-ranked Penn State. A set play led to the first goal, with an entry pass from Jen Buczkowski and a Kerri Hanks flick preceding Weissenhofer’s quick lift shot into the right side of the net. The goal ultimately held up as Weissenhofer’s fourth gamewinner of the 2006 postseason (an ND record for GWGs in one postseason). She struck again less than three minutes later, on a classic counterattack sequence that included a cross from Hanks on the right flank, Brittany Bock’s shot from the top of the box and Weissenhofer’s finish of the rebounded shot for her 17th goal of the season. She completed her 12-minute hat trick on another rebound play, following a free kick from 35 yards out by Hanks. Weissenhofer (18G-17A) joined former great Jenny Streiffer (22G-22A) as the only ND players ever to reach at least 17 goals and 17 assists in their freshman season, with Weissenhofer’s 53 points (5th-most ever by an ND freshman) ranking second in the nation for 2006 behind her teammate Hanks (64). Shannon Boxx (’95) and Jenny Heft (’96) were the only previous ND freshman to post a hat trick in the NCAAs. The 4-0 win over Penn State represented Notre Dame’s largest margin of victory vs. a top-25 NCAA Tournament opponent since 1997, pushed the team’s season scoring margin to 82-8 and gave the Irish a 32-game home winning streak that is tied for third-longest in NCAA D-I women’s soccer history

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Josh Sandman

HONORABLE MENTION

Josh Sandman (Men’s Golf; So., Greensboro, NC) – Sandman continued his remarkable run of consistency as a collegian, placing 14th with a five-over par 215 (66-77-72) at the Aloha Purdue Collegiate Invitational, held in Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii, at the Kiahuna Golf Club (par 70/6,885 yards); it was Sandman’s eighth top-25 finish in 10 career tournaments, with his opening-round 66 representing the best round of his young career; Sandman earlier had placed 10th at the Prestige at PGA West (76-70-67/213) and ended the fall with a 72.80 stroke average that ranks second on the team; his 73.10 career stroke average is best on the team (senior Cole Isban is at 73.88) and puts Sandman on pace to challenge a Notre Dame record that has stood for nearly 50 years (Charles Thurn’s 74.43 career stroke avg., from 1956-58).

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Katie Carroll

Katie Carroll (Women’s Swimming; Sr., IM/Fly; Toledo, OH – Carroll played a lead role in helping 20th-ranked Notre Dame win the Minnesota Invitational, with the Irish edging runner-up Tennessee by 83 points over the course of the three-day, 41-event competition; Carroll first finished as the runner-up in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.40) before adding two more second-place finishes, in the 400-yard IM (4:14.99, for an NCAA “A” qualifying standard) and the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.28); she capped her big week by winning the 200-yard butterfly (1:58.75 and combining with Megan Farrell, Christa Riggins and Rebecca Grove on the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished third in a time of 3:26.38.

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Patrick Smyth

Patrick Smyth (Cross Country; So.; Salt Lake City, UT) – Smyth capped a strong cross country season by earning All-America honors with his 36th-place finish at the NCAA meet, held in Terra Haute, Ind., at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course; he covered the 10-K course in a time of 31:41 while becoming the program’s 30th All-American (total of 47 awards); his earlier 2006 honors included four top-12 finishes, most notably taking third in the BIG EAST and eighth at the Great Lakes Region race; Notre Dame’s 19th-place finish at the NCAAs marked the 41st time in 43 NCAA trips that the Irish men have placed in the top-20.

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Kerri Hanks

Kerri Hanks (Women’s Soccer; So., F; Allen, TX) – Hanks helped set up all the goals in the NCAA quarterfinal win over #8 Penn State, with her career-best three official assists making her the 11th D-I player ever to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in the same season; her flick of a Jen Buczkowski free kick set up Michelle Weissenhofer’s opening goal on the right side; two minutes later, a right-flank cross from Hanks led to a Weissenhofer goal (after a deflected Brittany Bock shot); a Hanks’ free kick later was punched out and Weissenhofer sent home the rebound for the 3-0 lead; another set play led to the final goal, as Hanks struck a rightside corner kick and Amanda Cinalli sent home a far-post header; Hanks stayed atop the national scoring charts (64 points; nation-best totals with 22 goals and 20 assists) while pushing her career point total to 135, third-most ever by a D-I player over the course of her freshman and sophomore seasons; she became the first ND player ever with a hat trick a 3-assist game in the NCAA Tournament play; Hanks, with points in 13 of 14 career postseason games, ranks third in ND history with 42 career postseason points (15G-12A) while her 23 postseason points in 2006 (7G-9A) are the second-most ever by an Irish player in one postseason.

Nov. 21, 2006

Mallorie Croal And Luke Harongody Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Joe Lapira, Brittany Bock, Darius Walker and Jill Krivacek – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Nov. 13-19.

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Mallorie Croal’s three consecutive double-double matches nearly carried the Notre Dame volleyball team to the BIG EAST Tournament title.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-13 honorees (Nov. 13-19) including volleyball player Mallorie Croal and basketball big man Luke Harangody:

MALLORIE CROAL
Volleyball
Sophomore
Outside Hitter/Opposite
Villa Park, California

Croal helped the fifth-seeded Notre Dame volleyball team make a lateseason push to reach the BIG EAST title game, with that result ultimately helping the Irish earn an NCAA berth for the 15th straight season. Croal’s three-match totals in the BIG EAST Tournament included a team-best 53 kills (3.8 per game, on .247 hitting), 47 digs (third on the team; 3.4/gm), 7 blocks, 5 assists, 3 aces and 60.5 points – as she registered a double-double in the 3-2 comeback vs. Cincinnati, in the 3-1 upset of top-seeded St. John’s (semifinal) and in the heartbreaking loss to Louisville in the title match (2-3). Croal registered a career-best 25 kills in the win over the Bearcats (plus 14 digs, 4 blocks and a season-high 30 total points) before helping hand the Red Storm their second loss of the season, thanks to her 16 kills (on a season-best .361 hitting), 19 digs, 3 blocks and 18.5 points. She concluded the big weekend with her seventh double-double of the season, posting 12 kills and 14 digs in the loss to the Cardinals.

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Luke Harangody is the first Notre Dame freshman since Troy Murphy (in 1998) to open his Irish career with four double-digit scoring games.

LUKE HARANGODY
Men’s Basketball
Freshman
Forward
Schererville, Indiana

Hanangody was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week after averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in leading Notre Dame to a 3-1 record to start the season. The first Irish player since Torin Francis in 2002-03 to earn the league’s rookie-of-the-week honor, Harangody also became the first Notre Dame freshman since Troy Murphy (in 1998) to open his college career with four double-digit scoring games. The 6-8, 250-pound had 12 points and 8 rebounds in his collegiate debut, a 92-49 win over IPFW on Nov. 10. Three days later, his 17 points and 10 rebounds helped the Irish nearly edge Butler in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off, with Butler going on to win the tournament. It was the first double-double by a Notre Dame freshman since ’02-’03 (Francis). The Irish returned to the NIT games the next day and turned in a 92-60 win over Lafayette, with Harangody having another strong effort (18 points, 5 rebounds) despite playing just 20 minutes off the bench. He wrapped up the week with 18 points in a 74-50 win over Citadel, outscoring the opposition all by himself in the first half (16-12) en route to a 7-for-9 shooting night from the floor (plus 4-of-4 from the free-throw line). Harangody’s quick start ranks his second on the team in scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg), in just 18.3 minutes per game. He is shooting 58.1 percent from the field (25-for-43) and 93.8 percent from the line (15-for-16).

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Joe Lapira

HONORABLE MENTION

Joe Lapira (Men’s Soccer; Jr., F; Lake Charles, LA) – The Hermann Trophy frontrunner scored the gamewinning goals in a pair of NCAA Tournament wins, as the Irish topped Illinois-Chicago in the round-of-32 (1-0) before winning at defending champion Maryland (1-0); Lapira ran onto a pass from Bright Dike and scored on a 12-yard shot shortly before halftime of the UIC game; three days later, the 12th-seeded Irish took the 5th-seeded Terrapins to overtime before Lapira scored with 3:04 left in the second overtime – sending the Irish to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in the program’s history; a pass from Dale Rellas set up the historic goal, with Lapira then making a move around his defender before sending home a far-post shot for his nation-leading 22nd goal of the season (and 11th gamewinner); it marked the second straight season that the Irish had beaten the defending NCAA champion (also vs. Indiana in the 2005 round-of-32).

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Brittany Bock

Brittany Bock (Women’s Soccer; So., F; Naperville, IL) – Bock scored twice in the first half to spark top-ranked Notre Dame to a 3-0 win over #16 Colorado in the NCAA round-of-16; Bock scored a world-class goal in the 16th minute, rocketing a 25-yard shot from the left side that knuckled past goalkeeper Kirstin Radlinski for her 10th goal of the season; later in the half, she headed home a leftside corner kick from Kerri Hanks for the 2-0 halftime lead; nearly half (11) of Bock’s 23 career goals with the Irish now have come on headers and she moved into a tie with Hanks for the team lead in game-winning goals (6); her 11 goals in 2006 include five in the postseason while three of her six header goals in ’06 have come in postseason play.

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Darius Walker

Darius Walker (Football; Jr., RB; Lawrenceville, GA) – Walker turned in the second-highest rushing total of his three-year career with the Irish, after gaining 162 yards on 24 carries (6.8 per rush) in the 41-9 win over Army, also adding five receptions for 25 yards; he also scored a pair of touchdowns (pushing his career total to 26) and joined Vagas Ferguson, Allen Pinkett and Autry Denson as the fourth Irish player to post 1,000 yards rushing in back-to-back season; the Army game marked his 13th career game with 100-plus rushing yards and moved him to fourth on the Irish career rushing list (3,065 yards); Walker’s 786 career receiving yards also are fourth-most ever by a Notre Dame running back.

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Jill Krivacek

Jill Krivacek (Soccer; Sr., M; Geneva, IL) – Krivacek had the primary assist on Brittany Bock’s goal that opened the scoring for the top-ranked Irish women’s soccer team in the 3-0 NCAA round-of-16 win over #16 Colorado; she also continued to play a lead role in the team’s domination of possession, with a 26-5 edge for the Irish in total shots and 9-0 in shots on goal; it marked the 20th consecutive time that the Irish held their opponents to 0-4 shots on goal, with a 78-8 seasons scoring margin and just 46 shots on goal allowed in 24 games (1.9/gm); Krivacek’s 14 points in 2006 (4G-6A) nearly equal her combined total from the previous three seasons (19); she is part of a senior class that owns a 90-7-3 career record, the second-most wins ever by an ND senior class and second-most in the nation among 2006 senior classes; her 92 career games played are tied for 19th in the ND record book.

Nov. 14, 2006

Erik Condra And Sunni Olding Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Three others – Kerri Hanks, Patrick Smyth and Ryan Thang – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Nov. 6-12.

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Eric Condra’s two goals and three assists in the weekend sweep of Bowling Green earned him CCHA and national player-of-the-week honors.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-12 honorees (Nov. 6-12) including hockey forward Eric Condra and cross country standout Sunni Olding:

ERIK CONDRA
Hockey
Sophomore
Left Wing
Livonia, Michigan

Condra was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association offensive player of the week and also collected national player-of-the-week honors after totaling two goals and three assists in a sweep of Bowling Green (5-2, 4-0). He played a key role in the opening win over the Falcons, after assisting on two goals by Ryan Thang and setting up another goal the third member of their line, Levin Deeth. Condra then closed the weekend with a pair of goals in the shutout of BG, with his first goal holding up as the gamewinner while his second score came on the power-play. With 13 points for the season (4G-9A), Condra currently ranks as the second-leading scorer for a Notre Dame team that is 8-1-1 and ranked as high as fifth in the national polls. He owns a +7 plus-minus ratio for the season and now has totaled 47 points (10G-37A) in his young career with the Irish.

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Sunni Olding clinched her spot in the 2006 NCAA Championship race after placing sixth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional race, finishing the 6-K race in a time of 21:03.

SUNNI OLDING
Women’s Cross Country
Junior
Minster, Ohio

Olding placed sixth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional race at the Forrest Creason Golf Course in Bowling Green, Ohio, covering the 6-K course in a time of 21:03. It marked the third time that the All-American has finished in the top-seven of the regional race and she helped the Irish women place sixth in the team standings. Her sixth-place finish puts Olding in position to earn an automatic individual qualification to the NCAA Championship, if Notre Dame does not receive an at-large team berth. Olding earlier placed sixth at the BIG EAST Cross Country meet, after finishing 19th at the Pre-National Meet and repeating as the champion of Notre Dame’s National Catholic Invitational. She will be looking to improve on her 34th-place finish from the 2005 NCAAs (her second All-America finish).

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Kerri Hanks

HONORABLE MENTION

Kerri Hanks (Women’s Soccer; So., F; Allen, TX) – Hanks totaled three goals and two assists during the weekend to help the top-ranked Irish open NCAA Tournament play with wins over Oakland (7-1) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-0); she assisted on the first goal versus Oakland and then scored the next three, becoming the first ND player with a hat trick in the NCAAs since 1998; Hanks then had the primary assist on the only goal in the game vs. UWM, pushing her atop the national scoring charts with 58 points (21 goals and 16 assists, both second-most in the nation); her career totals still include an average of better than one goal per game played (49G, in 48 GP) and she became the 11th ND player ever to reach both 30 goals and 30 assists (31) in her career.

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Patrick Smyth

Patrick Smyth (Cross Country; So.; Salt Lake City, UT) – Smyth’s 8th-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional helped the 18th-ranked Irish men place second to clinch the team’s spot in the NCAA Championship race. His time of 31:23 in the 10-K race was just one second behind All-America teammate Kurt Benninger, at the Forrest Creason Golf Course in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Irish team totaled 104 points to finish behind only defending national champion Wisconsin.

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Ryan Thang

Ryan Thang (Hockey; Fr., RW; Edina, MN) – The CCHA’s rookie of the week played a key role in Notre Dame’s 5-2 win over Bowling Green, scoring twice (for 2-1 lead and the 3-2 gamewinner) and assisting on an earlier Mark Van Guilder goal that forged a 1-1 tie; he was +3 in the 5-2 win and then was on the ice for both of linemate Erik Condra’s goals in the 4-0 win over BG; Condra currently ranks fifth on the Irish team in scoring with nine points (6G-3A), including three game-winning goals and a pair of power-play scores for an 8-1-1 Irish squad that stands as high as fifth in the national rankings.

Nov. 7, 2006

Stephen Bass And Kerri Hanks Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Valerie Providenza, David Brown, Mallorie Croal and Noriko Nakazaki – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

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Stephen Bass became the first Notre Dame men’s tennis player ever to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-11 honorees (for Oct. 30-Nov. 5) including tennis player Stephen Bass and high-scoring soccer forward Kerri Hanks:

STEPHEN BASS
Men’s Tennis
Senior
Bronxville, New York

Bass became the first Notre Dame men’s singles player to ever reach the ITA National Indoor Championship semifinals … the 21st-ranked Bass became opened the tournament with a 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-5 victory over No. 26 GregOuellette of Florida … Ouellette, who won the Region III qualifyingtournament, was 7-0 on indoor courts entering the indoor nationals … Bass then upset No. 2 and 2005 ITA All-American National Champion John Isner of Georgia, 6-4, 7-6 (6) … Bass reached the semifinals with a come-from-behind victory over Boise State’s Luke Shields, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), before losing to Ohio State’s Steven Moneke.

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Kerri Hanks was named the BIG EAST women’s soccer offensive player of the year before taking home the BIG EAST Tournament offensive MVP trophy, with a pair of assists in the 2-0 semifinal win over Marquette and two goals in the 4-2 title-game victory over Rutgers.

KERRI HANKS
Women’s Soccer
Sophomore
Forward
Allen, Texas

Hanks took home the BIG EAST offensive player-of-the-year and BIG EAST tournament offensive MVP trophies, after assisting on both goals in the BIG EAST semifinal win over Marquette (2-0) and scoring the game’s first two goals in the title-game win over Rutgers (4-2). Hanks has emerged as the nation’s frontrunner for the prestigious M.A.C Hermann Trophy, currently ranking second in the nation with 50 points and fourth nationally in goals scored (second among players from teams competing in the NCAAs). She also ranks fourth nationally with 14 assists and carries a seven-game point streak into the NCAAs (points in 11 of past 12 games), having scored (12) or assisted (13) on nearly 70% of ND’s goals (25 of 37) since the midpoint of the season (averaging better than 3.0 pts/gm in that 12-game span).

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Valerie Providenza

HONORABLE MENTION

Valerie Providenza (Women’s Fencing; Sr., Sabre; Beaverton, OR) – Providenza’s runner-up finish at the annual Penn State Open marked the fourth time in her career that she had reached the semifinal round of the prestigious individual event (including a first-place finish in 2004); the three-time All-American entered the 57-fencer field as the #2 seed and went 15-0 in her pool bouts, highlighted by a 5-4 win over Harvard’s Alexa Weingarden (a #10 seed); Providenza’s direct-elimination results then included a 15-14 win over Ohio State’s Syvenna Siebert (a #10 seed), a 15-8 quarterfinal win over Penn State’s Sophie Hiss (#3 seed), a 15-7 semifinal with Harvard’s Carolyn Wright, and a 15-10 loss to OSU’s Siobhan Byrne in the final (Wright and Byrne were tied for the #4 seed entering the tournament)

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David Brown

David Brown (Hockey; Sr., Goaltender; Stoney Creek, ONT) – Brown was named CCHA goaltender of the week for the second time this season, after maintaining his hot start to the season by claiming the top spots in the nation for season goals-against avg. (1.26) and save pct. (.950); he stopped 46-of-49 shots he faced last week as the Irish posted a 4-2 win and 1-1 tie at Ohio State, giving Brown a 4-0-1 record and 0.98 GAA in his past five games; his .912 career save pct. is tied for the ND record

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Mallorie Croal

Mallorie Croal (Volleyball; So., OH/OPP; Villa Park, CA) – Croal was named BIG EAST player of the week after posting a team-best 28 kills (4.7/gm) on .490 hitting in 3-0 wins over Georgetown and South Florida; she totaled s team-best 30.5 points during the weekend, adding 14 digs and five blocks; her week included 13 kills vs. Georgetown (.417 hitting, 6 digs, 4 blocks) before hitting .560 and throwing down 15 kills at USF (8 digs)

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Noriko Nakazaki

Noriko Nakazaki (Women’s Golf; Sr.; Hanover Park, IL) – Nakazaki continued her career-long trend of top finishes by placing sixth (73-76-70/219) at the 19-team Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate, held at the par-72, 5,953-yard Oak Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C.; her final-round 70 was ND’s best round of the 2006 fall season; she heads into the spring on pace to set the ND record for season stroke avg. (74.93) while also owning the best career stroke avg. (75.91) in the history of ND women’s golf, after factoring into the count-four team score in 111 of her 114 career rounds

Oct. 31, 2006

Brittany Bock and Kurt Benninger Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Christian Hanson, Sunni Olding, Jen Buczkowski and Patrick Smyth – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Oct. 23-29.

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Brittany Bock scored gamewinning goals in the 3-0 wins over Cincinnati and St. John’s, adding another score versus the Red Storm to give her five goals in her past six games played.

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The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-10 honorees (for Oct. 23-29) including soccer forward Brittany Bock and All-America cross country runner Kurt Benninger:

BRITTANY BOCK
Women’s Soccer
Sophomore
Forward/Midfielder
Naperville, Illinois

Bock was the top midfielder named to Top Drawer Soccer’s national team of the week, after totaling three goals in last week’s matching 3-0 wins over Cincinnati and St. John’s … she opened the scoring in the midweek makeup game at Cincinnati, taking a backheel pass from Kerri Hanks on the right side of the box and drilling a leftfooted shot into the upper right corner of the net for a high-level gamewinner … five days later, she sent home a pair of goals on set-play headers for an early lead on SJU in the BIG EAST quarterinfinals (the first came via a Michele Weissenhofer flip-throw and the second on a Hanks corner kick) … Bock’s eight goals this season (in just 14 games played, due mostly to the Under-20 World Championship) include five in her past six games played … her 20 career goals now include eight on a variety of impressive headers.

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Kurt Benninger repeated as the BIG EAST cross country runner-up, with a career-best time of 23:31 over the 8-K course.

KURT BENNINGER
Men’s Cross Country
Senior
Chepstow, Ontario

Beninger finished second at the BIG EAST Cross Country meet, held at Franklin Park in Boston … his career-best time of 23:31 in the 8-K race placed him second behind Providence’s Martin Fagan, repeating their respective placings from the 2005 BIG EAST race … the Irish men finished third (behind #20 Providence and #16 Georgetown) and have finished in the top four every year since ND joined the BIG EAST in 1995 … Benninger earlier placed seventh at the cross country Pre-National Meet and 13th at the Notre Dame Invitational (both events featured several of the nation’s top teams) … he next will be looking to improve on his 2005 All-America finish of 8th-place at the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championship.

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Christian Hanson

HONORABLE MENTION

Christian Hanson (Hockey; So., C; Venitia, PA) – Hanson was named MVP of the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla., after helping the Irish hockey team post its first tournament title since 1981; he scored an insurance goal in the 3-0 win over Army and then sent home the eventual game-winning goal versus Air Force (2-0), finishing the weekend with a +2 plus-minus ratio; Hanson has helped Notre Dame (5-1-0) jump out to its best start since the 1998-99 team opened 6-0-0

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Sunni Olding

Sunni Olding (Cross Country; Jr.; Minster, OH) – Olding placed sixth at the BIG EAST Cross Country meet, with a time of 21:00 over the 6-K course at Franklin Park in Boston; she helped the ND women place third (behind #12 Providence and #18 Georgetown), marking the fifth straight top-three finish for the Irish women; Olding picked up all-BIG EAST honors for the third time, joining Jen Handley and Molly Huddle for the most in ND women’s cross country history; she earlier finished 19th at the Pre-National Meet and repeated as the champion of Notre Dame’s National Catholic Invitational; Olding will be looking to improve on her 34th-place finish from the 2005 NCAAs (her second All-America finish)

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Jen Buczkowski

Jen Buczkowski (Women’s Soccer; Sr., M; Elk Grove, IL) – Buczkowski picked up her seventh and eighth assists of the season in last week’s action, placing her fourth among the BIG EAST Conference’s assist leaders; she had the primary assist on a Kerri Hanks’ one-timer that yielded a 2-0 halftime lead in the 3-0 win at Cincinnati; five days later, her lead pass set up another Hanks goal to cap the 3-0 win over St. John’s in the BIG EAST quarterfinals; her domination of the midfield helped ND total a 55-15 edge in total shots during the week, plus 24-6 in shots on goal and 14-1 in corner kicks (for the season, ND owns a 61-5 scoring margin and has allowed just 37 shots on goal in 19 games); Buczkowski is one of 23 all-time ND players to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in her career (20G-32A) and has played in all 95 games of her career while helping the Irish compile a .911 win pct. from 2003-06 (85-7-3)

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Patrick Smyth.

Patrick Smyth (Men’s Cross Country, So.; Salt Lake City, UT) – Smyth finished third at the BIG EAST Cross Country meet, held at Franklin Park in Boston; his career-best time of 23:32 was just one second behind teammate Kurt Benninger, with Providence’s Martin Fagan repeating as the BIG EAST champion; the Irish men finished third (behind #20 Providence and #16 Georgetown) and have finished in the top four every year since ND joined the BIG EAST in 1995; Smyth earlier placed third at the Notre Dame Invitational, finishing ahead of various runners from seven nationally-ranked teams (including Fagan and Benninger)

Oct. 24, 2006

David Brown And Jeff Samardzija Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Five others – Noriki Nakazaki, Kerri Hanks, Josh Sandman, Brady Quinn and Wes O’Neill – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Oct. 16-22.

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David Brown stopped 48 of 50 shots while leading Notre Dame to an impressive pair of road wins at number-one Boston College (7-1) and Providence (6-1).

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-9 honorees (for Oct. 16-22) including hockey goaltender David Brown and football All-America receiver Jeff Samardzija:

DAVID BROWN
Men’s Hockey
Senior
Goaltender
Stoney Creek, Ontario

Brown stopped 48-of-50 shots (96.0%) while surrendering just one even-strength goal in road wins at number-one-ranked Boston College (7-1) and Providence (6-1). The veteran goaltender stopped 26-of-27 shots and nearly posted a shutout at BC, allowing only a power-play goal in the third period. The victory was the second of Brown’s career versus a top-ranked Boston College team, as he beat the Eagles during his freshman season (1-0). Brown capped his weekend by making 22 saves versus PC, giving him as season save percentage of .942 to go along with a 1.47 goals-against average. His .911 career save percentage is just shy of the Notre Dame record (.912).

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Jeff Samardzija’s 45-yard catch-and-run have him a season-high eight receptions and provided the winning points in the 20-17 win over UCLA.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA
Football
Senior
Wide Receiver
Valparaiso, Indiana

Samardzija completed a 45-yard catch-and-run – currently under consideration for the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” – to complete the 20-17 comeback victory over UCLA. It marked just the third time in the program’s 118-year history that Notre Dame has won a game with a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of regulation. Samardzija totaled a season-high eight catches for 118 yards in the game (matching the second-most in his career), including a catch at the back of the endzone (2-yard TD) that gave the Irish an early 7-0 lead. It was his seventh career game with 100-plus receiving yards, sixth with multiple TD catches and fourth with eight or more receptions. His 22 career touchdown receptions (seven in ’06) are tied with Derrick Mayes for first in Notre Dame history while his totals in the UCLA game moved him past Tim Brown and Jim Seymour into third place on the ND career receptions list (143), also passing former teammate Maurice Stovall into third in career receiving yards (2,063). The 45-yard touchdown play marked the ninth career reception of 40-plus yards in Samardzija’s career.

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Noriko Nakazaki

HONORABLE MENTION

Noriko Nakazaki (Women’s Golf, Sr.; Hanover Park, IL) – Nakazaki tied for fifth with a two-over total of 145 (71-74) at the San Diego State TaymorMade Classic, held at the par-72, 6,259-yard Salt Creek Golf Club; she owns a 75.46 stroke average for the 2006 fall season, including an 8th-place finish at the Irish Invitational (230), 14th at the Charleston Southern Cougar Classic (220) and 19th at the Kansas Sunflower Invitational (235); Nakazaki owns the top career stroke average in Notre Dame women’s golf history (75.99), factoring into the count-four team score in 108 of 111 rounds.

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Kerri Hanks

Kerri Hanks (Women’s Soccer; So., F; Allen, TX) – Scored first two goals and assisted on Notre Dame’s final goal in 4-2 showdown with Villanova, then had primary assist on free-kick that led to header goal by Carrie Dew in 1-0 win at Georgetown; she has scored (8) or assisted (9) on nearly 70% of Notre Dame goals (17 of 25) during past four weeks … ranks sixth nationally in goals (14) and fifth in total points (38); Hans has reached 10 goals and 10 assists in back-to-back seasons, also 5A shy of reaching 30G-30A for her career (achieved by 10 previous ND players); she has totaled 42 career goals in 42 games played.

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Josh Sandman

Josh Sandman (Men’s Golf; So.; Greensboro, NJ) – Sandman closed the best round of his Notre Dame career (five-under 67) to place 10th in a 78-player field at the Prestige at PGA WEST (213, 76-70-67), held on the par-72, 7,156-yard Greg Norman Course; it was the second top-10 finish of Sandman’s career and his best 54-hole score, finishing six shots behind tournament medalist Zack Miller of Stanford; he earlier placed 19th this fall at the Minnesota Invitational (227) and 11th at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic (222); Sandman has compiled a 73.46 career stroke average with the Irish.

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Brady Quinn

Brady Quinn (Football; Sr., QB; Dublin, OH) – Quinn was nominated for Cingular Player of the Week and Pontiac Gamechanging Play of the Week (both TBA), after engineering game-winning drive that beat UCLA (20-14) as part of his 304-yard passing day (27-of-45, 2 TDs); the decisive three-play drive needed just 35 seconds, as Quinn completed pass to Jeff Samardzija (21 yards), David Grimes (14) and Samardzija again on a 45-yard catch-and-run; it marked just the third time in the program’s history that the Irish have completed a gamewinning TD drive in the final 30 seconds of regulation; it also was the third time in Quinn’s ND career that he has directed a game-winning drive in the final minute; he became the 32nd player in D-I history to reach 10,000 career passing yards and established a school record for consecutive passes without an interception (144).

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Wes O’Neill

Wes O’Neill (Hockey; Sr., D; Essex, Ontario) – O’Neill was named CCHA defensive player of the week for his role at both ends of the ice in wins at top-ranked Boston College (7-1) and Providence (6-1); he had a pair of assists and was +3 in the upset of BC, also helping kill 9-of-10 power plays; O’Neill also was +1 and helped kill all six power plays versus PC and has totaled four assists this season, with a +7 plus-minus ratio.

Oct. 17, 2006

Kurt Benninger And Cole Isban Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Carrie Dew, David Brown, Sunni Olding and Michael Thomas – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Oct. 9-15 (Carl Santos-Ocampo also recognized for “unique feat,” after sinking second hole-in-one of the fall season).

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Kurt Benninger placed seventh at the Pre-National Meet, covering the 8-K course in a time of 23:40.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-8 honorees (for Oct. 9-15) including All-America distance runner Kurt Benninger and golf standout Cole Isban:

KURT BENNINGER
Men’s Cross Country
Senior
Chepstow, Ontario

Benninger turned in the best 8-K time (23:40) of his career while placing seventh at the cross country Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. He helped the #21-ranked Irish place fourth in the Pre-National White Division race at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course, which later will serve as the site of the 2006 NCAA Championship. The Irish finished behind only #5 Iona, #3 Stanford and #25 Florida in the 36-team field while beating seven ranked teams (most notably #9 BYU). Benninger will be looking to improve on his 2005 All-America finish of 8th-place at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championship … he earlier placed 13th this season at a Notre Dame Invitational that featured several of the nation’s top teams.

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Cole Isban shot 214 to finish second at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic.

COLE ISBAN
Men’s Golf
Senior
South Bend, Indiana

Isban added to his All-America credentials by tying for second at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Gold Classic, held at Notre Dame’s Waren Golf Course … Isban could have tied for medalist honors, but Lamar’s Justin Harding chipped in for a birdie on his final hole. Isban’s four-under 214 (68-73-73) included an opening score that was one shot off his career-best round. It was the seventh top-five finish and 13th top-10 showing of Isban’s career, which also includes a 74.07 career stroke average that is on pace to break the longstanding Notre Dame record.

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Carrie Dew

HONORABLE MENTION

Carrie Dew (Women’s Soccer, So., D; Encinitas, CA) – Dew was recognized by the BIG EAST for the second time this season, earning a spot on the weekly honor roll after leading the Irish to pair of shutouts (6-0 at UConn, 1-0 at Providence); currently under consideration for BIG EAST defensive player of the year and Academic All-America (3.33 cumulative GPA, as business major); continued to dominate in the air last week due to her 5-foot-9 frame and tremendous athleticism while helping the Irish allow just 12 shots, two shots on goal and seven corner kicks during the weekend; member of ND team that has racked up 50-3 scoring margin and has allowed just 28 shots on goal in 15 games (1.9/gm, on pace for ND record)

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David Brown

David Brown (Hockey; Sr., G; Stoney Creek, ONT) – Brown was ready to play in the season opener versus Minnesota State, making 36 saves in that 6-1 win before a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in overtime two days later at Minnesota State (13 saves); compiled a .925 save pct. during the first week of the season, pushing his career save pct. to .910 (just shy of the ND record of .912)

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Sunni Olding

Sunni Olding (Cross Country; Jr.; Minster, OH) – Olding led the Notre Dame runners at the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing 19th in the talented 245-runner field with a time of 20:38 in the 6-K Blue Division race (at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course, which later will serve as site of the NCAAs); it represented the third-fastest 6-K time of her All-America career; earlier made history by becoming second woman ever to repeat as the champion of Notre Dame’s National Catholic Invitational (17:51, 5-K); will be looking to improve on her 34th-place finish at the 2005 NCAAs (her second All-America finish)

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Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas (Men’s Soccer; Fr., M; Olathe, KS) – Thomas was named the BIG EAST Conference rookie of the week and also earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer national team of the week, after scoring his first goals of the season in the 3-0 wins over Michigan State and Providence; became the first ND men’s soccer player to be named BIG EAST rookie of the Week since John Mousinho on Nov. 1, 2004; has appeared in all 16 games during the 2006 season while starting 14; assisted on goal by Joseph Lapira in earlier 2-0 road win over Seton Hall

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Carl Santos-Ocampo

Carl Santos-Ocampo (Men’s Golf; Fr.; Naples, FL) – Santos-Ocampo sunk a hole-in-one for the second straight week, picking up his most recent ace on the par-3 fourth hole at the Warren Golf Course (in the Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic); holed his tee shot with an 8-iron from 136 yards out into a stiff breeze, en route to an 11th-plac finish (222); earlier hit a hole-in-one during the third round of the John Dallio Memorial, a “B” team event in West Chicago, Ill. (Prairie Landing Golf Club; par-3 third hole, 175 yards)

Oct. 10, 2006

Mariel Zagunis And Kerri Hanks Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Joe Lapira, Darius Walker, and Catrina and Christian Thompson – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Oct. 2-8.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-7 honorees (for Oct. 2-8) including international fencing standout Mariel Zagunis and high-scoring soccer forward Kerri Hanks:

MARIEL ZAGUNIS
Women’s Fencing
Junior … Sabre
Beaverton, Oregon

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Notre Dame junior Mariel Zagunis – the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2006 NCAA champion – returned from the 2006 Fencing World Championships in Torino, Italy, with silver medals for the women’s sabre individual and team competition (photo courtesy of Serge Timacheff and fencingphotos.com).

Zagunis just returned from the 2006 Fencing World Championships in Torino, Italy, with two silver medals to add to her already impressive trophy case. Zagunis opened her bouts in the 89-fencer women’s sabre individual competition with a 15-9 win over 61st-seeded Amelie Zerfass of Germany. A tough battle awaited in the round-of-32 versus Poland’s Irena Wieckowska (#36 seed), with Zagunis closing out the 15-13 victory. A 15-7 win over Ukraine’s Olga Kharlan (#20 seed) was next in the round-of-16 and Zagunis then moved past the quarterfinals after her 15-10 win over the 28th-seeded Alexandra Bujdoso of Germany. USA teammate Sada Jacobson – who fenced collegiately at Yale – had taken out top-seeded Anne-Lise Touya of France in another quarterfinal to set up the Team USA matchup in the semifinals. The 8th-seeded Jacobson held an early lead but Zagunis went on to the 15-10 win. She then faced another teammate, 16-year-old sensation and 7th-seeded Becca Ward, in the final but lost a close decision (13-15). Later in the week, Zagunis combined with Ward, Jacobson and Caity Thompson to take the silver in the women’s sabre team competition. The USA opened with wins over Canada (45-30) and Ukraine (45-30) before topping Poland in a 45-33 semifinal. France upset top-seeded Russia in the other semifinal (45-39) and staged a mid-match comeback to edge the USA in the final (45-42).

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Kerri Hanks turned in a nine-point weekend, with three goals and three assists during action versus the BIG EAST’s New Jersey schools, Seton Hall an Rutgers (photo by Matt Cashore).

KERRI HANKS
Women’s Soccer
Sophomore … Forward
Allen, Texas

Hanks – named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week and considered a top candidate for national player-of-the-week honors (most still are TBA, as of Tuesday morning) – moved to fourth place among the nation’s goalscoring leaders (11), after a nine-point weekend that included three goals and three assists. The U.S. Under-21 National Team player posted her third career hat trick with the Irish in a 5-0 win over Seton Hall, scoring the first three goals and then assisting on the fourth (a goal by Michele Weissenhofer). Two days later, Hanks had the primary assists on both goals as top-ranked Notre Dame handed Rutgers just its second loss of the season and first in BIG EAST play (2-0). Hanks has more than half of her 28 points this season in the past two weeks, with five goals and five assists (15 pts) over the course of those four games. She has 99 career points (39G-21A) in 38 games and – with a point on Oct. 13 at UConn – could reach 100 career points quicker than any previous Notre Dame player (the record is 100 pts in 40 GP). Her 11 career gamewinning goals with the Irish include five already during the 2006 season. Notre Dame is 25-0-0 during the past two seasons when Hanks scores a goal.

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Joe Lapira

HONORABLE MENTION

Joe Lapira (Men’s Soccer; Jr., F; Lake Charles, LA) – Lapira repeated his national player-of-the-week honors (per both College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer), after registering two-goal games in wins over Michigan (2-0) and Georgetown (4-1), adding a pair of assists versus the Hoyas; Lapira leads the nation in goals (17) and points (36, with 2A), with his 17 goals ranking fourth in the history of Notre Dame men’s soccer and most since the late 1970s (when Kevin Lovejoy set the Irish record with 29 goals in 1978); he now has been named a national player of the week a total of three times this season

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Darius Walker

Darius Walker (Football; Jr., RB; Lawrenceville, GA) – Walker has been nominated for the Cingular national player of the week in Division I football (TBA Oct. 11), after playing a lead role in the 31-10 win over Stanford (25 rushes for 153 yards and a TD, plus six receptions for 45 yards); the 153 yards were the second-most of Walker’s career while his 298 yards of offense represented nearly half of Notre Dame’s total in the game

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Catrina (left) and Christian (right) Thompson, pictured at at the 2005 ITA All-American Championships

Catrina and Christian Thompson (Women’s Tennis; Seniors; Las Vegas, NV) – The Thompson twins came one win shy of becoming the first pair ever to repeat as champions at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship (held in Pacific Palisades, Calif.); 4th-seeded Roxanne Clarke and Kady Pooler of Arizona State knocked off the Thompsons, 8-4, in the final; they opened played with an 8-1 win over 17th-ranked Lindsey Nelson and Dianne Matias of USC before beating Miami’s Audrey Banada and Romy Farrah, 8-3 (the win over the USC duo avenged the Thompson’s loss in the 2006 NCAA doubles while the win over Miami avenged ND’s loss in the 2006 NCAA team competition); their semifinal win came over 22nd-ranked Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zorcic of William and Mary (8-6); the Thompsons also were the runner-up at the 2004 event before winning in 2005

Oct. 3, 2006

Michele Weissenhoher And Joe Lapira Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Four others – Rhema McKnight, Patrick Smyth, Kim Lorenzen and Darius Walker – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1.

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Michele Weissenhofer continued her impressive freshman season by scoring the gametying goal and adding an assist versus #6 West Virginia (3-1) before scoring twice more in the 5-0 win over Pittsburgh.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with the week-6 honorees (for Sept. 26-Oct. 2) including soccer players Michele Weissenhofer and Joe Lapira (see PDF link for previous week’s honorees):

MICHELE WEISSENHOFER
Women’s Soccer
Freshman … Forward
Naperville, Illinois

Weissenhofer was named the BIG EAST Conference offensive player of the week and was tabbed national player of the week by TopDrawerSoccer.com (other national awards were TBA, as of Tuesday morning), after leading the top-ranked Irish women during another 2-0 week with three goals and seven points, adding to her nation-leading assist total (with her 12th). She had strong a weekend forming a potent forward trio with Kerri Hanks (2G-2A) and Brittany Bock (1G-1A), with those three players combining for six goals and four assists during the two games. Weissenhofer’s gametying goal in the second half sparked a three-goal comeback to beat #6 West Virginia (3-1), adding an assist on Amanda Cinalli’s goal in that 3-1 win. She came back two days later to score twice in the 5-0 win over Pittsburgh while continuing to provide an added threat with her deep flip throw-ins that produced several near-goals. A top candidate for national freshman of the year and All-America honors, Weissenhofer has registered points in 10 of 11 games played this season and currently leads the nation in assists and assists per game (1.09) while ranking second in points (28) and ppg (2.25), and 14th in goals (8). She is likely to become the nation’s first player to reach 10 goals and 10 assists, a mark achieved by just six previous ND women’s soccer players (only once since 1999).

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Joe Lapira’s pair of two-goal games last week give him a nation-leading 13 goals for the season.

JOE LAPIRA
Men’s Soccer
Junior … Forward
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lapira became the first Notre Dame men’s soccer player ever to be named the BIG EAST Conference offensive player of the week twice in the same season, while also being named by the College Soccer News men’s soccer website as its national player of the week. He scored twice in both wins last week, versus Marquette (4-0) and on the road over Seton Hall (2-0). Lapira now shares the national goalscoring lead (13), with his five multiple-goal games including a four-goal effort to headline the earlier win over 8th-ranked Indiana.

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Rhema McKnight

HONORABLE MENTION

Rhema McKnight (Football; Sr., WR; Inglewood, CA) – Made a career-best 10 receptions in the 35-21 victory over Purdue, totaling 120 yards receiving with touchdown catches of six and 12 yards (his first TD catch gave the Irish a 21-7 lead while the second capped the scoring); ranks 4th in ND history for career receptions (135), 7th in career TD catches (13; six in `06) and 8th in career receiving yards (1,803)

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Patrick Smyth.

Patrick Smyth (Men’s Cross Country, So.; Salt Lake City, UT) – Finished third with a personal-best time of 23:46 over the 5-mile cross country couse at the Notre Dame Invitational; finished ahead of various runners from seven nationally-ranked teams, including Providence’s Martin Fagan and ND’s Kurt Benninger (both All-Americans), while finishing behind only Chris Solinsky of top-ranked Wisconsin (23:24, third-fastest in the meet’s 39-year history at the 5-mile distance) and Weber State’s Seth Pilkington (a transfer from the University of Illinois).

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Kim Lorenzen

Kim Lorenzen (Women’s Soccer; Sr., D; Naperville, IL) – Captained ND defense that limited nation’s top-scoring team West Virginia to one goal before holding Pittsburgh off the board for the team’s eighth shutout of the season; made several key plays in high-paced 1st half to thwart WVU goal chances; led defense that allowed just 8 shots, 3 shots on goal and 3 corner kicks all weekend; on field for a 106-minute stretch (spanning both games) in which the Irish did not allow a shot on goal (including final 74 minutes of WVU game); key member of defense that has allowed just 3 goals and 25 shots on goal (2.3/gm) all season; third on team with 818 minutes played (74/gm)

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Darius Walker

Darius Walker (Football; Jr., RB; Lawrenceville, GA) – Played lead role in Notre Dame’s balanced offensive attack versus Purdue (35-21), accumulating the second-most all-purpose yards of his career (219); latched onto a career-best nine receptions covering 73 yards while posting the second-highest rushing total of his career (146; his 10th career game with 100-plus) on 31 carries (matching 2nd-most of his career); converted 10 of ND’s first 12 first downs in the game, including 14-yard TD run that produced 14-7 lead (his 20th career TD, with 18 on the ground)

Sept. 26, 2006

Adrianna Stasiuk And Terrail Lambert Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The WeekThree others – Brady Quinn, Carrie Dew and Joe Lapira – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Sept. 18-24.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with volleyball player Adrianna Stasiuk and football’s Terrail Lambert picking up the week-5 honors for the week of Sept. 18-24:

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Adrianna Stasiuk posted double-doubles in the BIG EAST opening matches versus Rutgers and Villanova.

ADRIANNA STASIUK
Volleyball
Junior … Outside Hitter
Park Ridge, Illinois

Stasiuk’s team-best 26 kills (3.71/gm) and 25 digs (3.57) led the Irish volleyball team to wins over Rutgers (3-0) and Villanova (3-1) during the first weekend of BIG EAST Conference play, earning her BIG EAST player-of-the-week honors. Stasiuk had 14 kills and 10 digs in the win over the Scarlet Knights and registered another double-double match (12 K, 15 D) versus the Wildcats, adding four blocks and four assists in that win. Her .737 hitting percentage (with no errors on 19 swings) was highest by a Notre Dame player since 2000 (min. 4 attacks/gm). It had been seven years since an Irish player totaled 14-plus kills while hitting at a clip of .737 or higher. Stasiuk has been honored by the BIG EAST twice in her career and currently leads the Irish with 191 points, also ranking second on the team in kills (157) and digs (154).

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Terrail Lambert returns an interception 27 yards for the gamewinning touchdown against Michigan State.

TERRAIL LAMBERT
Football
Junior … Cornerback
Oxnard, California

The Football Writers Association of America named Lambert the Bronco Nagurski national defensive player of the week while the Master Coaches Survey awarded Lambert a MCS “game ball” as its defensive player of the week, in recognition of the junior nickel back’s pair of key interceptions that helped the Irish football team complete its comeback victory at Michigan State (40-37). Lambert also has been nominated for the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” of the week in Division I football (TBA Sept. 27). Notre Dame had cut a 16-point deficit to 37-33 when Lambert made a fingertip grab and weaved his way through the Michigan State offense for a 23-yard interception return. The touchdown came with 2:53 left to play and delivered the winning points in a game that saw the Irish face an early 17-0 hole. Lambert – who also had five tackles in the game (four solo) – sealed the victory with a second interception, this was coming in the closing moments of the game. Cornerback Mike Richardson knocked the pass down near the right sideline and the ball bounced off Lambert’s chest and settled on the back of a Michigan State receiver. Lambert dove towards the ground, grabbed the ball off the MSU player’s back and gained possession before rolling out of bounds – producing the unusual and game-clinching turnover.

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Brady Quinn

HONORABLE MENTION

Brady Quinn (Football; Sr., QB; Dublin, OH) – Named by the Football Writers as the Walter Camp Football Foundation national offensive player of the week, after completing 20-of-36 passes for 319 yards and five touchdowns in the 40-37 comeback win over Michigan State; his three second-half touchdowns led the comeback and were part of his eighth career 300-yard passing effort (and third career game with five TD passes).

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Carrie Dew

Carrie Dew (Women’s Soccer, So., D; Encinitas, CA) – BIG EAST Conference defensive player of the week, also named to national teams of the week by Soccer America and TopDrawerSoccer.com ; scored gamewinning goal in 74th minute of 2-0 game with Louisville, handing Cardinals their first loss of the season; led defense that held UL to no shots on goal (four total) and one corner kick; played key role after fellow center back Kim Lorenzen was injured and missed entire second half; member of ND defense that is riding 528-minute shutout streak and has allowed just two goals in nine games.

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Joe Lapira

Joe Lapira (Men’s Soccer; Jr., F; Lake Charles, LA) – BIG EAST weekly honor roll; scored twice in 3-1 win over Pittsburgh, for his third multiple-goal game of the season; broke 1-1 tie with gamewinning goal in 56th minute, adding second goal 15 minutes later; currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth nationally with nine goals for the season.

Sept. 19, 2006

Cross Country Standout Sunni Olding Named Notre Dame Primetime Performer Of The Week
Three others -Adrianna Stasiuk, Jake Watson and Michele Weissenhofer – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Sept. 11-17..

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with cross country runner Sunni Olding being the week-4 honoree (Sept. 11-17):

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Sunni Olding became the second women’s runner ever to repeat as the first-place finisher at the National Catholic Championships, covering the 5-K course in a time of 17:51.

SUNNI OLDING
Women’s Cross Country
Junior
Minster, Ohio

Olding became the second women’s runner ever to repeat at the National Catholic Championship, held at the Notre Dame Golf Course. The All-American won by a 12-second margin over the runner-up, covering the 5-K course in a time of 17:51 to finish atop the 267-runner field. Olding helped the Notre Dame women tie Marquette for the team title, marking the fifth straight year (and 13th time in the past 15 seasons) that the Irish women have won or shared the NCC title. Former Notre Dame All-American Joanna Deeter is the only other women’s runner to repeat as an NCC champion, since the women’s race was added to the championship in 1984.

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Adrianna Stasiuk

HONORABLE MENTION

Adrianna Stasiuk (Volleyball; Jr., OH; Park Ridge, IL) Stasiuk was named co-attacker MVP at the ASU Sun Devil Classic, after totaling 39 kills (3.9/gm), 35 digs (3.5), eight aces and four blocks in three matches; she had 13 kills, 13 digs, four aces and three blocks in the 3-0 win over Butler before playing a lead role in the 3-1 win over Duke, hitting at a .387 clip with 14 kills, nine digs, four more aces and a block; Stasiuk capped the week with another double-double, after totaling 12 kills and 13 digs in a loss to the host team Arizona State.

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Jake Watson

Jake Watson (Men’s Cross Country; So.; Stillwater, MN) – Watson nearly won the 27th annual National Catholic Championship (held at the Notre Dame Golf Course), finishing second and just two seconds behind champion John Riak of Saint Martin’s with a time of 24:40 over the 5-mile course; Watson repeated as the NCC runner-up while helping the Irish men win the National Catholic title for the 18th time, with the race featuring a total of 237 men’s runners from 31 teams.

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Michele Weissenhoher

Michele Weissenhofer (Women’s Soccer; Fr., F; Naperville, IL) – Weissenhofer led the top-ranked Irish soccer team with three goals and a pair of assists during a pair of road wins, at DePaul (5-0) and Michigan (2-0); the Chicago-are native raced down the right flank and cut a pass back to Kerri Hanks for the 2-0 lead at DePaul before completing a spin move and sending home her tough leftfooted shot for the 3-0 cushion; Weissenhofer later knocked home a rebounded Brittany Bock shot for the 4-0 lead on the Blue Demons; two days later, she took a return pass from Susan Pinnick and slid around a defender before scoring on an 18-yard leftfooted shot for her fifth goal of the season, early in the second half of the Michigan game; Weissenhofer then posted her nation-leading 10th assist of the season late in the game, lifting a cross into the box to set up a goal by Amanda Cinalli.

Sept. 12, 2006

Brady Quinn Named Notre Dame Primetime Performer Of The Week
Three others – Christie Shaner, Maurice Crum and John Carlson – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Sept. 4-10.

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with football quarterback Brady Quinn being the week-3 honoree (Sept. 4-10):

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Brady Quinn’s 287 passing yards and three TD passes paced a strong day from the Irish offense in the 41-17 win over #19 Penn State.

BRADY QUINN
Football
Senior
Quarterback
Dublin, Ohio

Quinn led the way in Notre Dame’s 41-17 win over 19th-ranked Penn State, completing 25-of-36 passes for 287 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Quinn was 12-of-16 for 150 yards and TDs in the second quarter alone, with both scores coming in the final four minutes of the half. His 7-yard pass to Jeff Samardzija capped a 9-play, 75-yard drive that covered 4:11 of game time and gave the Irish a 13-0 lead with 3:58 left before halftime. Quinn then engineered a quick drive (7 plays, 69 yds, 1:17) to crack the endzone again seconds before the end of the first half, connecting with Rhema McKnight for a 9-yard TD pass and a 20-0 halftime margin. His final TD pass came early in the fourth quarter, on a 15-yard play to Darius Walker that pushed the Irish lead to 41-3. It was the ninth time in Quinn’s career at Notre Dame that he has throw three or more TD passes in a game.

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Christie Shaner

HONORABLE MENTION

Christie Shaner (Women’s Soccer; Sr., D; Ambler, PA) – Shaner continued to be one of the veteran leaders of the Irish defense from her left back spot, starting both games on the Texas swing as Notre Dame posted a pair of shutouts (2-0 at TCU, 3-0 at SMU); Shaner helped ND total a 34-9 edge in shots, 17-3 in shots on goal and 17-5 in corner kicks during the two games; the weekend left the Irish with a 21-2 season scoring edge, plus a 120-36 scoring margin (56-18 in shots on goal) and a 50-19 edge in corner kicks; Shaner played her 79th consecutive game for the Irish, with her career totals including 81 games played and 73 starts; she has missed just one game in her career, as part of a senior class that has racked up a 73-7-2 career record.

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Maurice Crum

Maurice Crum (Football; Jr., LB; Riverview, FL) – Crum was among the leaders of the Irish defense that forced three turnovers and limited #19 Penn State to three points until the final five minutes of the game (PSU used two late scores for the 41-17 final); Crum has a team-high 14 tackles, including 10 solo and three for loss; he also forced a fumble early in the second half, with Tom Zbikowski picking up the fumble and racing 25 yards for the score and a 27-0 lead.

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John Carlson

John Carlson (Football; Sr., TE; Litchfield, MN) – Carlson played a key role in a strong showing by an Irish offense that totaled 397 yards in the 41-17 win over #19 Penn State; Carlson’s six receptions and 98 receiving yards both were career-highs, as was his 32-yard catch on the team’s first drive of the game.

Sept. 5, 2006

Soccer Players Amanda Cinalli And Joe Lapira Named Notre Dame Primetime Performers Of The Week
Christina Kaelin and Jill Krivacek receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Aug. 28 – Sept. 3..

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with soccer players Amanda Cinalli and Joe Lapira being the week-2 honorees (Aug. 28 – Sept. 3):

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Amanda Cinalli delivered three clutch goals and added an assist during the weekend action that saw the Irish top #19 USC (2-0) and fellow #1-ranked Santa Clara (3-1).

AMANDA CINALLI
Women’s Soccer
Junior
Forward
Maple Heights, Ohio

Cinalli received BIG EAST and national player-of-the-week honors (from Top Drawer Soccer), after playing a lead role in wins over 19th-ranked USC and a Santa Clara team that was ranked as high as No. 1 in the country. She earned offensive MVP of Notre Dame’s Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic, after factoring into four of the team’s five goals during the pair of wins over top-20 opponents. Cinalli scored the key second goal in the win over USC, flicking home a header after Michele Weissenhofer’s throw-in with seven minutes left to play. Two days later, Cinalli had the primary assist on Jill Krivacek’s 64th-minute tying goal versus Santa Clara, on a well-played ball into the box. Cinalli scored minutes later in that game, on a sharp header at the far post after a low cross from Weissenhofer. She capped her big weekend with a strong individual effort, avoiding three SCU defenders before sending her leftfooted strike into the upper right corner of the net for the 3-1 final. Cinalli tied career highs with two goals and five points in the win over the Broncos.

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Joe Lapira’s record-setting four-goal game at 8th-ranked Indiana included the gamewinner in overtime (5-4).

JOE LAPIRA
Men’s Soccer
Junior
Forward
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lapira joined Amanda Cinalli in receiving BIG EAST and national player-of-the-week honors (from Top Drawer Soccer), after his impressive individual performance of scoring four goals knocked off 8th-ranked Indiana (5-4, in overtime). Lapira was named the offensive MVP of the IU Classic, with his four goals setting a record for that 24-year-old tournament. He also became the first Irish men’s soccer player to register a hat trick since 2003. Lapira opened the scoring in the 30th minute, after getting behind the defense and sending home a far-post shot from 18 yards out on the right side. His goal early in the second half forged a 3-3 tie, heading in a free kick from Ryan Miller. The hat trick then was completed in the 55th minute, when Lapira sent a shot into the upper right corner of the net. The Hoosiers thrilled the third-largest crowd in Armstrong Stadium history (5,613) by scoring on a penalty kick with 11 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime. Lapira ended the game in the 98th minute by dribbling around an IU defender and chipping a shot into the right side of the net for the 5-4 win. It marked the first time that IU has surrendered five goals in the history of its men’s soccer program and the win gave the Irish a 4-3 record vs. the Hoosiers during the six-year tenure of ND head coach Bobby Clark.

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Christina Kaelin

HONORABLE MENTION

Christina Kaelin (Volleyball; Fr., OH; Louisville, KY) Kaelin repeated as the BIG EAST Conference rookie of the week, after leading 21st-ranked Notre Dame to a runner-up finish at the Shamrock Invitational. She totaled 57 kills (4.8/gm), 12 digs and five blocks as the Irish posted two wins and a five-game loss to 13th-ranked Missouri. Kaelin began her week with a 21-kill performance in the 3-1 win over Valparaiso before adding 12 kills and four blocks in the win over Idaho. She continued her strong tournament play against Missouri, with 24 kills and six digs in the tough 3-2 loss. Kaelin’s strong start to the season includes leading the team in kills during four of the five matches and owning a team-best 4.42 kills per game. She is the first Notre Dame volleyball player ever to be named BIG EAST rookie of the week in back-to-back weeks (only two previous Irish players have been BIG EAST rookie of the week twice in a season).

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Jill Krivacek

Jill Krivacek (Women’s Soccer; Sr., M; Geneva, IL) – Krivacek was named defensive MVP of Notre Dame’s Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic and joined teammate Amanda Cinalli in being named to the Soccer America national team of the week, after spearheading the effort that allowed just one combined goal, 16 total shots, 10 shots on goal and 11 corner kicks in the wins over #19 USC (2-0) and fellow #1 team Santa Clara (3-1); her shift from defensive midfielder to more of an attacking role helped fuel the comeback versus Santa Clara, with her well-placed leftfooted shot in transition providing the game-tying goal early in the second half.

Aug. 29, 2006

Kerri Hanks Named Notre Dame Primetime Performer Of The Week
Three others – Justin McGeeney, Christina Kaelin and Michele Weissenhofer – receive honorable mention for their efforts during the week of Aug. 21-27..

The Primetime Performances weekly award series has returned to und.com, with soccer player Kerri Hanks being the week-1 honoree (Aug. 21-27):

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Kerri Hanks hit the ground running in the 2006 season, scoring the quickest goal ever by an Irish women’s soccer player in a season opener (1:19).

KERRI HANKS
Women’s Soccer
Sophomore
Forward
Allen, Texas

Hanks had three goals in the opening-week action – including the quickest ever in a Notre Dame season opener – and had the corner-kick that produced a key game-tying goal, as the Irish opened with the challenge of playing at home (9-0 vs. Iowa State) and on the road (2-1 vs. #24 Mississippi) on back-to-back days. Her pair of early strikes versus the Cyclones included a score at the 1:19 mark, after taking an entry pass from Becca Mendoza and sending a 14-yard shot inside the near-right post. Later in the half, Hanks took a drop pass from Michele Weissenhofer and scored from 10 yards out into the right side for a 3-0 lead. The pair of goals, in just 30 minutes of action, gave Hanks 30 career goals faster than any previous player (26 games) in the program’s 19-year history. One day later, Hanks and the Irish overcame a rare early-game deficit at Ole Miss (which scored at 2:30). A rightside corner kick from Hanks set up the tying goal, a double-header sequence involving Haley Ford and Amanda Cinalli to secure the tie shortly before halftime. The winning goal then came early in the second half, as a Weissenhofer throw-in glanced off the head of Jill Krivacvek at the near-left post and Hanks finished her shot into the right side of the net for the 2-1 lead (making ND 20-0-0 when Hanks has scored a goal the past two seasons).

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Justin McGeeney

HONORABLE MENTION

Justin McGeeney (Men’s Soccer; Sr., F; Ames, IA) – McGeeney was named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week after posting the first two-goal game of his career in a 4-1 win over 8th-ranked Creighton; the Irish faced an early deficit before McKeeney headed home a cross from Nate Norman in the 14th minute; four minutes later, Bright Dike’s header set up McGeeney for a shot in the box that produced the eventual game-winning goal.

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Christina Kaelin

Christina Kaelin (Volleyball; Fr., OH; Louisville, KY) – Kaelin opened her collegiate career by being named the BIG EAST rookie of the week, leading the 21st-ranked Irish to a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green; she racked up 24 kills vs. the Falcons after hitting at a .465 clip, with only four hitting errors on her 43 swings; her 24 kills tied for the second-most ever by a Notre Dame player in a three-game match.

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Michele Weissenhofer

Michele Weissenhofer (Women’s Soccer; Fr., F; Naperville, IL) – Weissenhofer was named the BIG EAST rookie of the week after leading the Irish with seven points (2 goals, 3 assists) during opening-week victories over Iowa State (9-0) and 24th-ranked Mississippi (2-1); she became the third ND freshman ever to score/assist on four-plus goals in the season opener (2G-2A); a rightside corner kick from Weissenhofer assisted on a Jill Krivacek flick header early in the ISU game, followed by her primary assist on a combination play with Krivacek to set up a Kerri Hanks goal for a 3-0 lead; Weissenhofer later scored unassisted and then raced down the right flank before driving a low cross that was knocked in by an ISU defender for an own-goal; later in the game, a pass from Molly Iarocci set up Weissenhofer for a tough 18-yard shot inside the far-right post; her impressive opening weekend included her classic flip throw-in (from the left side) that assisted on the eventual gamewinning goal at Ole Miss, early in the second half (Krivacek headed the throw near the left post and Hanks finished at the far side of the box).